Forgive Ezekiel Elliott if he's not excited about talking about his nagging knee injury.
For Zeke, it's actually been something he's dealt with for over two months now.
"It occurred in the Panthers game," Zeke said of the initial knee injury in the win over Carolina on Oct. 3. "I've been dealing with it for almost two months now. It has gotten a little better but it does get stiff."
When asked Sunday by reporters in a virtual conference call if he's looking to manage the injury over giving it rest, Zeke was short but blunt.
"Yeah, I think so," said Zeke, who added that he hasn't been approached by anyone on the athletic training staff or the coaches to do anything but push forward.
"No one has come to me and asked me to rest," Elliott said. "If they bring it up to me, I've just got to go with what they think is best for the team, and leave it at that."
Not only has Elliott not surpassed 100 yards in the last six games, but since the Cowboys' loss to the Broncos four weeks ago, Zeke's rushing totals have dropped every week from 51, 41, 32 to just a season-low 25 rushing yards last Thursday against the Raiders.
In the last two games, Elliott has only rushed the ball nine times. Thursday was the first time all season that backup Tony Pollard (10 attempts) led the team in carries for a game.
But Zeke is the last person to use his lack of touches and/or the injured knee as an excuse for the struggles in the running game.
"Just making sure we're executing better. We have to fine-tine everything," Zeke said. "We've got to get this thing back rolling. The last month hasn't been that good for us. It'll be good for this team to go into New Orleans, a hostile environment and get a win."
Teammate Zack Martin, who has blocked for Elliott since he joined the Cowboys in 2016, said he expects nothing but Zeke's best moving forward.
"He's the ultimate competitor, we see it on a day-in-and-day-out basis," Martin said. "He takes great pride in being there for his teammates. For me, he's one of the top competitors I've been around and he's going to keep doing that."
