Ezekiel Elliott feels better than he has in months.
Elliott’ made the assertion after Wednesday’s Dallas Cowboys practice and three days after a 27-20 win over Washington.
Elliott wore a brace during the game on his right knee, which has been causing him pain for nearly two months. He had 45 yards on 12 carries. It’s his fifth consecutive game with fewer than 50 yards. The Cowboys were without Tony Pollard, who missed the game with a torn plantar fascia.
“That’s definitely the best I’ve felt in a while,” Elliott said. “I just think with time, [the injury is] starting to heal up.”
Although the Cowboys’ run game has improved slightly in the past two wins since gaining 82 and 64 yards on the ground in losses to the Chiefs and Raiders, it still appears a long way from rush dominance displayed in three of the team’s first five games. The Cowboys rushed for 198 or more yards in three of their first five games, and 160 in another en route to a 4-1 record.
“I think a lot of our runs were efficient,” said Elliott, who has rushed for 810 yards and eight touchdowns this season. “I think we’re definitely running it better. I think we’re starting to wear on them.”
Elliott last wore a knee brace in high school after an injury, he said. The brace helped provide stability.
“It definitely felt more comfortable,” he said. “It just kind of holds me in place. A lot of times when I’m kind of getting gimpy or banged up is when I kind of get rolled up on, or just land on my knee.”
Elliott defended quarterback Dak Prescott, who has struggled since missing a game with a calf injury. Prescott’s four lowest quarterback rating scores have come in the past six games when the Cowboys went 3-3. That includes a 58.8 rating against Washington, slightly above his season-low performance against the Chiefs.
“There are 11 of us out there so I wouldn’t say you could put anything on one player because it takes 11 guys to make a play,” Elliott said. “I think we all need to play better, the whole offense collectively.”
Elliott insists the signs are there that the offense is snapping out of its slump. The Cowboys (9-4) play the New York Giants (4-9) at noon Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
“I think our confidence level, it is where it has been. I think we know we have to play better. But I think we also know the level we can play at,” Elliott said. “We just have to go out there and play better.”