‘I’ll bet he jumps a guy’: Cowboys’ Prescott knew Ezekiel Elliott would provide highlight

Elliott saved his best for late in the game, leaping a defender and scoring twice to beat Detroit, all after taking a scary hit to his knee. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Nervous moments early followed by a gritty performance, late success, and ultimately, a happy ending.

That’s the story of the Cowboys’ 24-6 win over Detroit in Week 7, but it’s also the story of just another Sunday for Ezekiel Elijah Elliott.

The Cowboys running back turned in another strong showing on a day when all eyes were on the return of Dak Prescott to the Dallas passing attack. Elliott ended the afternoon with just 57 yards on 15 carries and wasn’t involved in the air game at all.

But his two one-yard scores were gigantic. The first, in the third quarter, reclaimed a lead for Dallas that they never relinquished. The second served as the kill shot, putting the Cowboys up by 11 with under three minutes to play.

It was the first time Elliott’s rushed for multiple touchdowns in a single game since Week 10 of last season, and it moved him into a tie with Jason Witten (5th place in franchise history) for the most career touchdowns from scrimmage.

But the play that most will remember from Sunday’s win is Elliott’s running leap over a defender on an 18-yard gain. It’s a move that Cowboys fans have seen numerous times, though the former high school hurdles champ hadn’t broken it out in a while.

“He actually was practicing the hurdle in practice,” Prescott told reporters from the podium after the win. “He didn’t jump over him, but he did the whole slow-feet stutter, and I’m like, ‘I’ll bet he jumps a guy this week,’ and sure enough, it just happened.”

What made the move even more impressive was that Elliott seemed lucky to still be running at all at that point in the game. Earlier, in the second quarter, he took a scary-looking hit to the knee on a 14-yard pickup just before halftime.

It looked bad, but Elliott was able to return to action and seemed no worse for the wear. His first half stats: seven carries for 28 yards. Then, eight carries for 29 yards- and the two touchdowns- after the hit to his knee.

“I think I got a contusion on it,” Elliott said afterward. “Still need to go back there and talk to the trainers.”

Elliott’s right knee was a problem for most of last season, too, after he suffered a partial PCL tear in Week 4 and played on it for the rest of the year. He came back in the offseason ready to show that he hadn’t lost a step, and his quarterback took notice early on.

“That shows his toughness,” Prescott reflected. “When he got himself better and got himself healthy, I saw it in the spring, just the bounce in his step, the way he’s moving, the cuts he’s made. Even when he got hurt, that’s a guy trying to cut back in and make a play that he knows he can make. He’s impressive, just his approach each and every day, the way he goes about it.”

The result was the latest chapter in what’s become a familiar story for the two-time rushing king: generally fewer attempts than he was getting earlier in his career, and for more modest yardage totals- he hasn’t topped 100 in over a calendar year- but now acting as a battering ram meant to wear opposing defenses down over a sixty-minute span.

“I think that’s kind of how the year’s been,” Elliott told media members. “It’s been grinding, tough games. It’s the NFL; you’re not going to have any gimmes.”

The hard hits will happen, the scary moments just a part of the game for a punishing, physical runner like Elliott. But his warrior mentality allows him to soldier on.

And sometimes, even end up being the (slightly-hobbled) hero.

“He’s relentless,” Prescott said. “When I saw the play, I thought it was a little ugly. I’m like, ‘I hope he’s fine.’ Ran over to the sideline; he said he’ll be good, and it wasn’t too long before he was jumping a guy. That’s Zeke for you.”

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