FRISCO, Texas – The noise remains the same – it's only the tone that's changed.
By this point in the season, Ezekiel Elliott is used to dozens of reporters at his locker, and he's used to dozens of questions being thrown in his direction.
Up until this point, most of those questions have been about good things – big wins, rookie milestones and award considerations. Following a frustrating loss to the Giants, though, the noise surrounding the Cowboys has taken a bit of a downturn.
It didn't seem to faze Elliott on Wednesday, however, as his stock reply remained the same.
"Honestly, we don't really worry about the outside – y'all ask me this so much," he said. "Like I've said, this is a close locker room. We play for each other. We don't care about what's going on outside of these walls. As long as what's going on inside these walls is good, that's what matters. That's how we answer that."
It's a timely reminder of life in the NFL. The conversation changes when the wins don't come, and the Cowboys haven't had to face that fact since early September. Elliott surely remembers the disappointment of rushing for just 51 yards in the season-opening loss to New York.
Despite a 107-yard effort in this most recent loss to the Giants, Elliott's eagerness to wipe away a bad result is still the same.
"After a loss, all you want to do is get to the next Sunday so you can make up for what you did the week before," he said. "We're antsy, we're eager to get back on the field and get back on track."
Tampa Bay's defense has been among the hottest units in the league during the course of a five-game win streak. But there is room for optimism Elliott could continue his good run of form. The Buccaneers rank No. 21 in the NFL in run defense, allowing 110.7 rushing yards per game.
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