Banned of bros.
As usual, an eventful week for the NFL, which finally got its wish when the court ordered Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott to begin serving his six-game suspension on the same day Seahawks lost cornerback Richard Sherman for the season in a Thursday w
ZEKE-LESS TEAM TO WATCH
With the courts finally ruling in favor of the NFL’s six-game suspension of Ezekiel Elliott, effective beginning with Dallas’ game Sunday at Atlanta, the Cowboys are in a scramble to figure out life without their star running back.
The Cowboys now will lean on backup backs Alfred Morris, Darren McFadden and Rod Smith, who’ve combined for 184 rushing yards this season. Elliott, the reigning NFL rushing champion, has 783 yards and seven TDs on 191 carries this season. That’s a lot of production to replace.
Morris has had three 1,000-yard seasons in his career and been to the Pro Bowl twice. McFadden was the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher in 2015 when he ran for 1,089 yards.
Elliott’s suspension comes at a time when the Dallas offense has been flying, scoring at least 28 points in each of the past three games.
Last month, the Cowboys were 2-3 after a loss to the Packers and had equaled their 2016 loss total a mere five weeks into the new season.
Then came a bye week, after which they’ve won three consecutive games. What’s eye-opening about the state of the 5-3 Cowboys is what Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali told the Dallas Morning News after Dallas defeated the Chiefs last week.
“I think that’s the best team in the league,” Hali said. “Credit to the team. They played really well and that’s a really good team … 13 wins last year.”
Considering the Eagles have the best record in the NFL at 8-1 and lead the NFC East, those were some strong words from Hali.