ARLINGTON – The Dallas Cowboys starting to run back, Ezekiel Elliott struggles with a bruised bone in his knee. Elliott ended the Thanksgiving loss to the Las Vegas Raiders with nine carries for 25 yards. In the past two weeks, Elliott had 57 rushing yards and 18 carries.
“He pushes his way through, he pushes his way through,” said Jerry Jones. “He certainly has one limitation. Our plan was probably to have it [Tony] Pollard touches the ball 25 times here. That was our plan. “
It was clear that Elliott wasn’t running with the same breakout he had at the start of the season. To give Elliott a break, Pollard was used as leadback on several series. The Cowboys also had Pollard and Elliott in the backcourt at the same time. Pollard, who had a 100 yard kickoff return for a score, finished with 36 yards on 10 carries.
Overall, Elliott’s ability to play games was slowed down by the knee problem despite touching the ball 15 times.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” said Elliott. “I feel good, but it probably was.”
The cowboys running game has suffered. In the past two weeks (both losses) the Cowboys have produced 146 rushing yards. You can attribute some of the fighting to Elliott’s health or defense, stacking linebackers near the scrimmage line.
“They have a good front and did a good job up front,” Elliott said of the Raiders. “We just have to do a better job and win the line of scrimmage.”
Coach Mike McCarthy was pretty straight forward when it came to Elliott: “I think Zeke struggled a little.”
Calvin Watkins
COVID-19 coach out: Philbin was one of three cowboys coaches banned from the AT&T stadium after recently testing positive for COVID-19.
Strength and conditioning coaches Kendall Smith and Cedric Smith were also unavailable. Cedric missed the entire week of training due to COVID-19, and Kendall joined the protocol shortly before it started.
Several COVID-19 cases have occurred recently.
Wide receiver Robert Foster, who is on the training team, and TJ Vasher, on the list of non-soccer injuries, joined Amari Cooper in Reserve / COVID-19 earlier this week. Cooper received this designation last Friday after a positive test.
Michael Gehlken
Luke Combs Launches Red Kettle Campaign: Country singer Luke Combs performed at halftime of the game on Sunday to kick off the Red Kettle campaign.
This is the 25th year that the Salvation Army has used the visibility of the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game to start their primary fundraiser. During that time, the Red Kettle Campaign raised $ 2.8 billion nationwide and served an estimated 748 million customers.
“Unfortunately, there are more people in need than ever before,” said Executive Vice President Charlotte Jones. “Food insecurity is a big deal. People have to decide whether to pay their light bills or go to the supermarket.
“That’s what this effort is about. If we can offer a Thanksgiving dinner, if we can offer Christmas for their families who otherwise wouldn’t have it, then we’re doing something good with this soccer game and with the artists who have signed up here.
“Luke Combs, that’s exactly why he’s here.”
David Moore
McCarthy supports Greg Zuerlein: Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein received a confidence boost from coach Mike McCarthy despite missing a field goal and a point after trying.
Zürlein was far left in the first quarter after a point-after-attempt and his 59 meters hit the left post in the second quarter.
“We’ll evaluate every move tomorrow,” said McCarthy. “We evaluate it the day after. We will keep working. I’m not worried about Greg Zürlein. He’s a professional who’s spent a lot of time in this league. We’ll look at it. He has to do those kicks – we understand that especially in this game. There were tight spots. We are definitely making progress with him. “
Zürlein scored a game-defining 45 field goal, usually 19 seconds behind. But Zürlein is 1-4 on field goals from 50 yards and more this season.
Meanwhile, Zuerlein’s counterpart, Daniel Carlson of the Raiders, went five-on-five in field goal attempts, including the game-winning 29-yarder in overtime.
Bisaccia is happy about the victory: Raiders interim trainer Rich Bisaccia spent five years (2013-2017) with the Cowboys as coordinator / assistant head coach. So it was no surprise that before the game he was greeted warmly as he walked back to Ezekiel Elliott.
Bisaccia was visibly happy after beating his former team but tried to downplay it.
“I would like to say yes to all of these things,” he said. “You know, I’ve been gone since four too. Certainly the relationships we have built here. Not just me, but [defensive line coach Rod] Marinelli and [DeMarcus Lawrence] and [Tyron Smith] and Zeke [Elliott] and Dak [Prescott]. Those were guys who were here when we were here and still have great relationships and we keep pulling for each other until we play against each other. “
Calvin Watkins
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