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If there was ever a time for Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott to come through with a breakout game, it was Sunday in New York against the Jets. Not only did the Patriots need a steady ground game on a windy and rainy afternoon, but Elliott needed to show he was not an utter bust in New England, not with his former team—the Cowboys—looming on the schedule next week.
Elliott did come through, rushing for 80 yards on 16 carries for the game, his best output since he ran for 90 yards in Week 11 of last season with Dallas. Consider that a bit of a showing-up of his old team, which lost to the lowly Cardinals on Sunday.
And he was asked about how things ended with the Cowboys, who released him in March.
“I would say I was definitely disappointed, but everything happens for a reason,” Elliott said after Sunday’s win, per Marc Daniels of MassLive. “God has his plan for us. I’m excited for this next chapter in life. I’m excited to be a Patriot. I’m excited to go chase a Super Bowl here.”
Elliott Had Struggled Before Sunday
Through two games, Elliott looked like a guy whom Dallas had good reason to let walk. He had carried 12 times for 42 yards, as the New England offense, behind a battered offensive line, looked slipshod. But on Sunday against the Jets, with a line in better shape and Elliott getting more comfortable with his new team, he was more forceful.
Rhamondre Stevenson got more work, with 19 carries and 59 yards, but Elliott’s 5.0 yards-per-carry average was especially encouraging for a player whose average had dipped to a career-low 3.8 yards last season. The Stevenson-Elliott combo helped the Patriots to eight of their 17 total first downs.
“Zeke’s done a good job for us,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “I think we’re getting a little bit of a feel for some of the things with him and vice versa. I thought he had a couple of real good runs today. We’ll look at the film and look a little more carefully, but I thought he did a nice job, he got his pads down. Got some tough yards. His vision was good on a couple of cut-back plays.”
Elliott’s Focus on the Big Cowboys Return
But with the Jets now behind him, the focus for this week will turn to the Cowboys. For the first five seasons of his career, Elliott was arguably the best running back in the NFL, leading the league in total rushing yards in 2016 and 2018, and leading the league in yards per game from 2016-18. He also scored 68 running touchdowns in 105 career games for the Cowboys, including 15 as a rookie.
The won three Pro Bowl berths while in Dallas, too, but his numbers began slipping after this fourth season. He did wrangle a six-year, $90 million contract from the Cowboys, and Dallas wound up paying more than $70 million on that deal, according to Spotrac.
Elliott, 28, signed a one-year deal with the Patriots worth up to $6 million with incentives on August 16.
“It’s going to be fun to go back to Dallas, a place where I spent so much time and a stadium that I played in a lot,” Elliott said. “It means a lot. I actually won a National Championship inside AT&T Stadium. I have a lot of history in that stadium. It’ll be fun to get back out there in front of the fans.”
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