Ezekiel Elliott saved himself with surprising news from Rico Dowdle

The Dallas Cowboys will have a different looking backcourt when they take on the San Francisco 49ers Football on Sunday evenings. In a move that seemed inevitable for weeks, Dalvin Cook was called up from the practice squad in hopes that he would provide impetus for the NFL's worst rushing attack.

Rico Dowdle proved useful as Dallas' lead running back. He expected to continue in that role despite Cook's arrival. However, that was until about two hours before kick-off.

According to the team, Dowdle contracted an illness upon his arrival at Levi's Stadium. Dowdle was originally listed as questionable while he was evaluated by team doctors, but he will be inactive, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media.

There was speculation that Ezekiel Elliott would be a healthy replacement given Cook's promotion from the practice squad. With Dowdle now feeling under the weather, the Cowboys have no choice but to dress Elliott.

Without Dowdle's last-minute illness, it would have made little sense for Dallas to use three running backs – plus Hunter Luepke – for the game. Many believed Elliott had made room for Cook on the active roster.

Elliott's 10 snaps in Week 6 were his most since the season opener. This ironically came after Zeke expressed his frustration with his role.

After a career game the week before, Dowdle had only allowed five runs against the Lions. Mike McCarthy has admitted this mistake and said earlier this week that Dowdle definitely needs to touch the ball more often.

It's obvious that Dowdle would have been plenty involved on Sunday evening. Additionally, Cook was not promoted to sit on the bench. If Elliott could only play 5-10 snaps per game on the field while Cook was on the practice squad, it would have been hard to imagine him having a role against the 49ers.

In other news, Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland were already ruled out. Rookie cornerback Caelen Carson will miss his fourth straight game with a shoulder injury. Cornerback Andrew Booth and offensive tackle Matt Waletzko are the only two healthy scratches.

Star playmakers Deebo Samuel (illness) and George Kittle (sprain) will play on the 49ers side. They won't have Christian McCaffrey, Jajuan Jennings or Brandon Aiyuk, but Cowboys fans now know better than to overlook San Francisco.

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