Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott says he felt 'a little rusty' in first game back from holdout

E.Jay Zarett

•
Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott says he felt 'a little rusty' in first game back from holdout image

Ezekiel Elliott doesn't think he had his best performance Sunday. 

The 24-year-old star was back in the Cowboys' backfield in their Week 1 win over the Giants after holding out for the entire preseason. Elliott, who signed a six-year, $90 million extension last week, was asked to evaluate his play against New York during a postgame press conference. 

"Obviously, I was a little rusty,” Elliott said, via the Dallas Morning News. “I didn’t play the best game. I have a lot I can improve on. But that’s going to take time, and it’s about getting more reps and being out there longer.”

Elliott split carries with Tony Pollard ⁠— they each received 13 ⁠— and finished with 53 yards on the ground in Dallas' 35-17 victory. He scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard run in the third quarter. 

“I thought Zeke did a good job,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said after the game. “Obviously, he missed a lot of time in training camp and practiced just three days this past week, so we wanted to be mindful of how many reps we gave him in the game. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. He ended up being in a couple of longer drives in the first half, so I think he got up over 35 snaps in the game. But it seemed like he handled it well.

"It looked like he ran the way Zeke runs. I know over time, when he practices a little bit more and gets a little more game experience, he’ll get more comfortable. But he’s a really good football player, and it’s good to have him back.”

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott completed 25 of his 32 passes for 405 yards with four touchdowns in the win. 

The Cowboys are set to face the Redskins on the road in Week 2. 

 

E.Jay Zarett