Ezekiel Elliott: "They're going to have to drag me off the field"

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The 2021 season has been a battle for Ezekiel Elliott. Since the Dallas Cowboys Week 4 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, Elliott has dealt with a nagging knee injury. He ran for 110 yards the next week against the New York Giants but hasn’t run for more than 69 yards since.

It was reported that the Cowboys were considering giving Elliott time to rest his knee and sit him out for their Week 13 contest against the New Orleans Saints. Elliott was able to play, but it was obvious that he was in pain.

The Cowboys got a mini bye week with 10 days to prepare for the Washington Football Team on Sunday. This has given Elliott more time to heal and he’s more than ready to face the Cowboys’ bitter rival.

“They’re going to have to drag me off the field,” Elliott said on Wednesday.

Elliott had an MRI last Friday after the Cowboys’ 27-17 win against the Saints. He didn’t talk about what the exact diagnosis was but did mention that it wasn’t a bone bruise as previously thought. Elliott got some good news though as the procedure showed that the status of his knee was trending upward.

“It just showed that it’s progressing and it’s getting better,” Elliott said. “Playing on it is not going to make it worse.”

The temperature for Sunday’s game is expected to be in the 40s, and Elliott mentioned how that will make it more difficult to keep his knee loose before kickoff.

“Yeah, it’s a little harder to warm up outside, but the outdoor games you get the heated benches so it’s a little warmer on the sidelines,” Elliott said. “Maybe at the beginning it’ll be a little stiff, but once the game goes on I’ll be able to put a little heat on it.”

The two-time rushing champ isn’t the only Cowboys runner dealing with an injury. Tony Pollard has a torn left plantar fascia and will be a game-time decision for Sunday against Washington. Dallas took precautions with these injuries by signing running back Ito Smith this week who was a fourth-round pick out of Southern Miss in 2018.

Elliott is still expected to play on Sunday despite his injury. Although taking a game off seemed like the best bet for Elliott so that he could be available for the playoff push, the all-pro thinks it’s paramount to play with pain down the stretch.

“I think it is important,” Elliott said. “It’s late-season, getting a little nicked up. Just have to fight through it and figure it out.”

Elliott started the season strong averaging 86.8 yards a game in the first six weeks. However, that has dipped to 40.6 yards a game in the last six. The Cowboys won five of their first six games when they ran the ball well and have struggled at 3-3 ever since.

So far in 2021, Elliott has only had 20 or more carries twice and those are the only games in which he has run for over 100 yards. However, even with a lack of carries due to Pollard getting more opportunities, an offensive line that’s still trying to find continuity, and his knee injury, Elliott’s 765 yards rank eighth in the NFL.

If the Cowboys want to reach their lofty postseason expectations then Elliott and the running game have to be better and there’s no better time to start than in a road game within the NFC East.