Getty Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was in and out of Sunday’s Week 9 loss to the Denver Broncos after sustaining a right knee injury. Elliott finished the game, appearing more bothered by the humiliating home defeat than an ailment he attempted to explain away.
“It’s something I’ve been dealing with the past couple weeks. Just a guy landed on it,” Elliott told reporters in his post-game press conference.
Elliot — who finished the affair with 51 yards on 10 carries and 25 yards on three receptions — was banged down following a first-half tote and gingerly walked off to the sideline. Cameras caught him sitting on the bench with a wrap around his knee, which he acknowledged was a heating pad for an issue the FOX television broadcast announced was a contusion.
“It helped just to keep it warm, and that’s just the biggest thing, keeping it warm,” he said.
Elliott alternated series with backup Tony Pollard as Dallas failed to establish its ground attack against the Broncos, logging just 78 rushing yards across 57 offensive plays. Much of the ineffectiveness was due to inordinate game flow — the Cowboys were trailing 30-0 by the fourth quarter — and a susceptible offensive line that created limited push.
“I think we ran the ball alright today,” opined Elliott. “I think just all together, offensively we gotta all do better. We got to protect the quarterback better, be more physical. Gotta execute.”
Although likely to be limited in practice, the team does not appear concerned about Elliott’s status for Week 10, an early-afternoon home matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons.
“He will be fine,” head coach Mike McCarthy said in a news conference Monday, November 8.
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Update on Tyron Smith
One of the reasons for the Cowboys’ uncharacteristic (to put it lightly) showing was an offensive line remodeled in the absence of star left tackle Tyron Smith, who sat out with an ankle injury.
To compensate, Terence Steele took Smith’s place and La’el Collins was inserted at right tackle. The result: five hits and two sacks on quarterback Dak Prescott and consistently leaky blocking that allowed the Broncos to own the line of scrimmage — not to mention the scoreboard.
And unfortunately for the Cowboys, as of this writing, Smith’s imminent return against the Falcons nor Steele’s removal from the lineup aren’t yet slam-dunk assurances.
“Another week of practice if he’s needed out there will definitely help,” McCarthy said of Steele in the Monday presser.
Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones took a more optimistic tone during a Monday radio interview on 105.3 The Fan, currying hope on the seven-time Pro Bowl blindside protector.
“You’d like to see him get a practice in this week and be able to play. We certainly haven’t ruled that out,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “He had a good week last week.”
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Zeke: We Need to Be Accountable
Say this for the Cowboys: there are no pity parties being thrown at The Star. Quite the opposite. Just ask defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who’s preparing to face the Falcons for the first time since his dismissal as its head coach.
“There’s no time to stroll down memory lane, we got some s*** to fix,” Quinn told reporters Monday.
Or ask Elliott, who believes that each side of the ball — and all involved — must atone for the fatal flaws that contributed to Denver’s dominating victory.
“Just holding everyone accountable, making sure everyone is held accountable,” he said after the game. “Making sure that we’re doing all the right things, making sure that we’re doing what we need to do to win more football games.”