Elliott finally gets back in the running in Dallas’ huge win
MINNEAPOLIS — The days leading up to Sunday’s game were spent in glorious anticipation of the showdown that was about to take place between two of the NFL’s best running backs.
At least that would have been the case in previous seasons. Not this one.
Dalvin Cook has been dominant. Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t. The narrative focused on what in the world the Dallas Cowboys’ defense could do to slow Cook. Hardly anyone asked Minnesota what it needed to do to stop Elliott. Think Elliott noticed?
The Cowboys running back found the end zone as often as Cook and averaged more yards per carry than his Vikings counterpart. He played a major role in the Dallas’ 31-28 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium, a win that means the winner of the team’s Thanksgiving game with Washington will lead the NFC East.
“This was definitely a win we needed,” said Elliott, who rushed for 103 yards and scored the game’s first touchdown. “I can’t even remember how long it’s been since our last win.”
Try Oct. 11. The Cowboys beat the New York Giants that day before embarking on a long, depressing four-game losing streak. That was also the last game Elliott found the end zone.
It came three plays after the injury that ended Dak Prescott’s season and sent the team into its current tailspin.
And that’s been part of the issue. Elliott hasn’t risen to the occasion as much as he’s sunk along with his teammates. He hasn’t carried this group in Prescott’s absence.
Sure, there are valid reasons. The Cowboys have played Russian
roulette at quarterback, the offensive line seems to change from one week to the next and this team finds itself behind so often it can’t run as much as it wants.
But Elliott isn’t paid to mirror the team’s success or failure. He’s paid to make a difference. Yet he didn’t rank among the league’s top 10 rushers entering Sunday’s game.
Cook had 954 rushing yards to lead the league. That was 382 yards more than Elliott. That’s why the two weren’t mentioned in the same breath.
It had to get under his skin.
“Nah, I wouldn’t say so, man,” Elliott responded. “I don’t really pay attention to what other people are saying. All I worry about is being the player I need to be for this team.”
Cook rushed for 115 yards, which was more than Elliott. But Elliott averaged 4.9 yards a carry to 4.3 yards for Cook. He made a nice catch and move on a 6yard touchdown reception to stake the Cowboys to an early lead.
“We got him the ball in space,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. “Both (tight ends) Dalton (Schultz) and Blake (Bell) did a good job of getting to the edge, and Zeke did the rest. Zeke had a great game. You hand the ball off to him and watch him make some of these runs, and you can see how special he is.”
It was also easy to see that Cook is special. He completely took over the game in the third quarter the way Elliott did so often earlier in his career. It ap
peared the Cowboys were headed to their fifth consecutive loss.
But this time, Elliott responded. He pounded the Minnesota defense for gains of 3, 15 and 6 yards immediately before Tony Pollard’s 42-yard touchdown burst. He finished the fourth quarter with eight carries for 55 yards to finish off the Vikings.
“Zeke is a warrior,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’s a huge part of our success. Look at the way he runs the football. The attempts, they are body blows for any defense.
“It’s fun to throw the football. But at the end of the day, good team football is about having a healthy run game. The combination of Zeke and Tony gives us
that. It was great to get him (23) touches today.”
Elliott has maintained the lack of 100-yard rushing games this season — Sunday was his first — didn’t frustrate him. He was more frustrated by the team’s losses. Well, he got his 100 yards and the Cowboys got the win.
Funny how that works. “I mean, it felt great,” El
liott said. “The O-line was doing a hell of a job. They were making clean holes that me and ‘TP’ (Pollard) could make our read and burst through and go play. I’m just happy we finally got this thing going.”
The Cowboys got it going with what McCarthy called the team’s most well-rounded performance of the season. Win Thanksgiving Day
against Washington, and this team will miraculously find itself atop the division all alone for at least a few days.
“We need to do something with this win,” McCarthy said. “We need to build off this win for it to mean something. It will take victory on Thursday.”
And it will take another good game from Elliott.