The Dallas Cowboys, who played against Kirk Cousins’ Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, dealt with a unique issue with running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and the team announced that Elliott did not make the trip to Atlanta for this week’s matchup. With Elliott already underperforming this season, the situation was less than ideal for both the player and the team.
Elliott has only 48 rushes for 149 yards (3.1 yards per carry) and just two touchdowns in seven games so far this season. What happened with Elliott, and why did he not travel with the team to Atlanta?
Why Did Ezekiel Elliott Not Make the Trip to Atlanta?
Jane Slater, a reporter for the NFL Network, reported, “Elliott is a healthy scratch today. The first of his career, according to several sources, Elliott has been distracted this season. Aside from habitual tardiness, he’s missed three team meetings, with Friday’s meeting the final straw.”
During the pregame show on “105.3 The Fan,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also weighed in on the decision to bench Elliott.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on the @1053thefan pregame show On Ezekiel Elliott not making the trip: "He was being punished. He just couldn't make the trip. … Zeke really was the first one to recognize the discipline involved in meetings and those kinds of things."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 3, 2024
“Well, Zeke couldn’t make the trip. He was being punished, and so he just couldn’t make the trip. Wasn’t necessarily a better option. He’s a much better option because he’s back in Dallas and these two are here. We need him.
“I’m trying to put a little humor on this thing, but I know Zeke really is the first one to recognize the discipline involved and meetings and those kind of things. Zeke is the antithesis of trouble. He’s absolutely led the way his entire career on leading the team off the field as well as on the field.”
The team and the often outspoken owner did not go into the specifics of what happened with Elliott.
Closer Look at Cowboys Rushing Issues in 2024
Despite losing Tony Pollard to the Titans in free agency this offseason, the Cowboys did not address the RB position, sticking with Rico Dowdle and Elliott. For the season, Dallas is last in the NFL, averaging less than 75 yards per game on the ground and last at 3.41 yards per carry. Combined, the two have two rushing TDs on the season, both by Elliott. Dowdle has the most rushing yards with 321.
But could help be on the way? In recent days, Jones has hinted at making a move at the trade deadline. Several reports have them looking at a running back to help bolster that position.
“We’ll probably do a couple things this week,” Jones said on Sunday. “I’m a long way from being dismayed about this team this year.”
While Elliott’s performance has been disappointing so far in the season, Cowboys owner Jones took the opportunity to balance all the negative chatter around his 29-year-old running back by highlighting some of his positives in the same interview:
“You’ve got to love somebody that plays the game as physical[ly] as he plays. You’ve got to love somebody who practices as hard as he practices. He’s inspirational and always has been. … But motivating, motivating, and getting his horse going.”
The Cowboys’ running backs Rico Dowdle, Dalvin Cook, Hunter Luepke, and Deuce Vaughn have a big game today in Georgia, with their veteran Elliott out for the day.