Few people have taken the devastating Dak Prescott injury as grimly as his best friend and teammate, Ezekiel Elliott. Since they were drafted in 2016, Prescott and Elliott have been inseparable off the field, and one of the NFL’s most dynamic duo’s on the field.
Following Prescott’s devastating injury last Sunday against the Giants, Elliott spoke to the media this week about what it’s like practicing without their leader, and what his expectations are for the offense now led by veteran Andy Dalton.
Elliott touched on the importance of keeping in contact with Prescott through these tough times, saying,
“Right now we’re dealing with COVID, and were already isolated as it is. For him [Prescott] to have that horrific injury, and for him to be out of his normal routine, unable to leave the house and come see us, and now he cant really even move around with the ankle. I just think it’s important that we all surround him, show him plenty of love, and I think it’s important that we continue to involve him.”
Cowboys Nation has done just that, surrounded Prescott and let him know the love they have for their franchise quarterback. Prescott seems to be handling his own circumstances better than the majority of Cowboys fans, as he released a video thanking his supports for the well wishes.
Elliott has already been to see his friend every day since the injury, and reassured to everyone that Prescott is handling this well.
“I’ve been going by and seeing him everyday. I’m going to go by and see him as much as I can, if that’s everyday, then I’ll go over there everyday. He seems like he’s in very good spirits, a little bit of pain, a little loopy, but he’s definitely in good spirits.”
The team has been able to remain focused on the goal, beating the Arizona Cardinals Monday night. Prescott touched on the practice week so far, stating,
“It’s been good. Just locking in, focusing in, and getting ready for these Cardinals. I know for him [Prescott] it’s going to be hard watching that game from home, and I think the best way to make him feel better is by winning, so we have to go out there and win for him.”
Usually when a team loses a quarterback the caliber of Prescott the season, at least offensively, is sunk. The Cowboys, however, made former Bengals’ quarterback, Andy Dalton, a priority in the offseason, and it appears the investment was worth while for Dallas.
Dalton took over the reigns halfway through the third quarter last Sunday vs New York, and helped Dallas cap off a touchdown drive. Late in the game Dalton would lead Dallas down the field for the game winning field goal, thanks in part to Michael Gallup who made two spectacular catches.
“Dak definitely is special. He definitely is special, but I think we have a lot of pieces in this offense and Andy’s played at a high level in this league. I think we should still be one of the best offenses in the league.”
Elliott’s praise for Dalton would continue,
“Andy’s a great guy. He’s a veteran. He knows a lot about this game. He’s played a lot of snaps, thrown for a lot of yards, he’s scored a lot of touchdowns. He’s confident in there, and I think he’s going to do good for us.”
“We just have to go out there and be ourselves. We have plenty of talent on this team, and Andy is plenty talented himself. Like I said, he’s been a started in this league, he could be a starter on other teams. So I don’t think anyone has to press, I don’t think anyone has to do anything out of the ordinary. I think we just have to be ourselves, go out there and have fun, and play our football.”
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Many analysts believe this insertion of Dalton into the Cowboys lineup will lead the Cowboys to a more ground-based attack, like we saw early in Elliott’s career. The All-Pro back made it clear how the team wants to play moving forward as he stated,
“I think we want to be balanced anyway. We’ve been more pass heavy this year just because we have gotten behind in a lot of games so we have had to throw the ball that much, but I think we want to be a balanced team.”
Elliott and company look to win back-to back-games for the first time all season when Arizona comes to Dallas for a Monday night showdown. An injury like Prescott’s can sometimes rally a team, and cause everyone in the building to step their game up a notch.
It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys offense adjusts to a new signal caller, but it’s clear that the Cowboys believe they can still win any game with Andy Dalton under center.
The full interview with Ezekiel Elliott can be found below.
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