Why OC Scott Linehan called Ezekiel Elliott ‘a grinder’ and compared him to Jim Brown
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed 23 times for 76 yards in the 13-10 victory against the New Orleans Saints.
It snapped his three-game streak of rushing for at least 100 yards.
But don’t be fooled. Elliott was a big part of the Cowboys victory.
And he is going to need the 10-day layoff after what his mother called a “blue collar game” on Twitter.
Elliott had 14 carries for a tough 39 yards in the first half and 17 for 43 through three quarters. He did have a critical 16-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass in the second quarter. Elliott was 19-for-50 before a 21-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
Elliott also had six catches for 60 yards, giving him 29 touches on the night and that doesn’t even account for his blocking in the passing game.
The Cowboys controlled the ball and the game with Elliott battered and bloody at the end.
It had offensive coordinator Scott Linehan comparing him to Hall of Fame legend Jim Brown after the game.
“I thought he was grinding it out,” Linehan said. “They were doing everything to stop him. They are hard to block. He kept grinding though. The guy is a grinder man, one of the best in the league. There is nothing he is above doing. He pounds it. He gives us an identity the way he plays. I wasn’t old enough to watch Jim Brown and those guys. He plays a lot like that.”
Elliott has 115 touches over the past four games, all Cowboys wins. He is averaging 29 touches per game, including 23 carries for 118 rushing yards per game and six catches for 50 receiving yards per game.
Now Elliott, who came into the game with a sore hip, has 10 days to rest until the Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 9.
“We are definitely going to appreciate it,” Elliott said of the rest. “We have had a tough stretch. We handled it well. We have to take care of our bodies, get back to work and build on this foundation we laid.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2018 at 9:01 AM.