Ezekiel Elliott is making his intentions for the Cowboys offense clear after getting off to a tough begin in Week 1 — a 19-3 loss to Tampa Bay — and it has the whole lot to do with feeding him the ball extra.
Elliott spoke candidly about needing extra carries to ensure that the Cowboys to achieve success in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.
"I don’t know if there's a [specific] variety of carries [needed], however I feel we positively must decide to working it," Elliott instructed the media Wednesday. "I feel it’s vital, interval, to ascertain the run recreation and run the soccer and get that going. I feel simply total as an offense we’re a greater soccer staff after we run the ball, and so I feel we ran the ball effectively final Sunday. I’m wanting ahead to committing to it this week."
Elliott had 10 rushes for 52 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, within the Cowboys' season opener.
Dallas will definitely must lean on its run recreation with quarterback Dak Prescott struggling a fracture in his hand Sunday and present process surgical procedure on his injured proper thumb. Prescott will not be positioned on injured reserve whereas he recovers, so he may take the sphere once more inside the subsequent month, though it appears unlikely.
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Elliott additionally shared that he believes the Cowboys must zero in on their dashing assault to assist ease the burden positioned on backup QB Cooper Rush, who has made only one NFL begin in his six years within the league. Rush beforehand stepped in for Prescott final October, throwing for 325 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a win at Minnesota.
On Thursday's "Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe — who believes the Cowboys have considerably "deserted who they really are in working the soccer" as a result of they paid Prescott the massive bucks — defined why Elliott ought to get "north of 18" carries in Week 2 if Dallas desires to win.
Ezekiel Elliott urges Cowboys to decide to run vs. Bengals
Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe resolve if the Dallas Cowboys ought to decide to Ezekiel Elliott and the working recreation.
"He is the highest-paid working again within the league," Sharpe stated. "Your franchise quarterback is out. In case you're not gonna lean on the working recreation now, if you happen to're not gonna depend on Zeke Elliott now — effectively when the hell are you gonna depend on him? It is both now or by no means. … That is what we have got Zeke for.
"I imagine [Dallas] deserted the run slightly bit too fast on Sunday, however I do not imagine that is gonna be the case this Sunday," Sharpe added. "I imagine he will get between 18 and 25 carries — that offers you one of the best probability to win this recreation as a result of that offers you one of the best probability to regulate the clock, management the ball [and] hold that high-flying (Bengals) offense off the sphere."
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The Cowboys led the NFL in scoring final season, however they will want a spark with a purpose to flip issues round.
Elliott, 27, has been one of many league's premier working backs since being drafted in 2016 — fourth total — however his efficiency and effectivity have tapered off since 2018, after he led the league in dashing as a rookie (1,631 dashing yards) and logged a league-leading 1,434 dashing yards two years later.
Elliott, who's coming into his seventh season within the NFL, inked a six-year, $90 million extension with Dallas earlier than the 2019 season. Throughout the final three seasons (2019-21), he has averaged 1,112.7 dashing yards (69.5 dashing yards per recreation) per 12 months — a far cry from his 1,349.3 dashing yards (101.2 dashing yards per recreation) per season averaged his first three years within the league (2016-18).
The Cowboys' lead again completed final season with 1,002 dashing yards and 10 dashing touchdowns on 4.2 yards per carry. Dallas went 12-5, profitable the NFC East, however misplaced to the San Francisco 49ers within the NFC wild-card spherical — the Cowboys' first postseason look since 2018.
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