GREEN BAY, WI - The decision on whether or not to play Ezekiel Elliott against the Green Bay Packers went to the wire, but it was decided by the Dallas Cowboys that they'd keep their two-time NFL rushing champ on the sideline at least one more week as he recovers from a knee sprain.
In his absence, the bulk of the work was again shoveled upon Tony Pollard, who played well en route to 115 rushing yards on 22 carries and a rushing touchdown, but the Cowboys inability to pound the Packers into submission with a 14-point lead begs the question of if they might've been able to have Elliott been on the field.
Following the 31-28 overtime loss to the Packers, Elliott explained the decision.
"I got in and got reps in practice last week, on Wednesday and Thursday, I had some solid days," said Elliott. "But I wasn't all the way confident in [the knee]."
It wasn't easy watching his offense melt on the back end of the game, however, knowing there was nothing he could do to change it from the sideline.
"It's tough," he said. "It's tough to not be able to close that game out. You just gotta be able to learn from the mistakes and get back to it."
Elliott is known to be the "sledgehammer" for the Cowboys and, as such, it's possible his presence in the four-minute drill would've been felt in a major way.
The team attempted to utilize Malik Davis in the role, and it was nearly effective, but a holding call against Connor McGovern deleted a 20-plus yard run that helped torpedo that attempt.
Looking forward, with the red-hot Minnesota Vikings on the GPS for next week, Elliott could certainly come in handy.
"I'm gonna do everything I can to get ready," he said. "… Super disappointed [in the loss to the Packers]. Would've loved to get coach a win here. … We would've loved to get him a win tonight.
"We just gotta get back to the drawing board and figure out the Vikings."
