Heading into Sunday’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, one of the top storylines was how Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott would handle the Packers’ top-ranked run defense. The rookie product out of Ohio State proved to win that battle.
Elliott went for more than 130 yards — 157 yards on 28 carries in this one — for the fourth consecutive game, a first for an NFL rookie. This performance proved key as Dallas went into Green Bay and pulled off an extremely impressive 30-16 victory.
ZEKE COMIN' THROUGH #DallasCowboys https://t.co/mUYTwhg752
— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2016
Besides helping the team win, a run like the one seen above was valuable in the Cowboys maintaining their lead.
Along with continuing his trend of strong play, Elliott also continued to show his ability to hurdle defenders.
As mentioned previously, the Packers defense was tops in the NFL and has been part of the reason Green Bay had gotten off to a strong start.
#Packers top-ranked run defense had allowed no runs longer than 14 yards through 4 games. Zeke Elliott just went for 25
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) October 16, 2016
There was plenty of hype surrounding Elliott heading into his rookie season. But there’s no way Jason Garrett and company thought he would be this effective, especially with Dak Prescott having to start for Dallas. The Cowboys can only hope Elliott is able to stay healthy. If he does, there’s no reason Dallas can’t win the NFC East.
