Hall of Famer quarterback Troy Aikman will be calling Sunday night’s playoff game between his former Dallas Cowboys team and the Rams in Los Angeles.
One of the best in the business, Aikman has done well to remain objective when analyzing football. It’s what sets him apart from the likes of Jason Witten and Michael Irvin.
But in talking about the game, Aikman did put on his Cowboy hat for a second. He was specifically engaging in a conversation about the Rams’ defense and coordinator Wade Phillips — an area that has been an issue for the NFC West champs.
Troy Aikman on @1053thefan mentions he can't believe this #Rams defense is coached by Wade Phillips and it's been an embarrassing defense recently. "If they play like they've played recently, Zeke could set records."
— Ari Temkin (@arisports) January 12, 2019
“If they play like they’ve played recently, Zeke could set records,” Aikman said.
In no way is the veteran announcer wrong here. Los Angeles actually yielded a league-high 5.1 yards per rush during the regular season. That included 100-plus yards in nine of the team’s final 10 games.
For his part, Elliott should absolutely eat Saturday night. He put up 169 total yards against a robust Seahawks defense last week.
The third-year back also led the league in rush attempts, rushing yards and touches en route to tallying 2,001 total yards during the regular season.
This is one area Dallas must take advantage of in order to advance to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since Aikman was tossing the ball around Big D.