There was a lot of criticism coming from every direction regarding Ezekiel Elliott’s lack of effort during the game against Denver Broncos. One of the loudest was NFL Network’s, LaDainian Tomlinson. Former San Diego Chargers running back who now works as an analyst stated that Elliott quit on his team during Sunday’s match vs. Denver Broncos.
2016 Rookie of the season runner-up didn’t let these words pass him by unnoticed. On Thursday, few days after the game he said: “I definitely heard it. I guess you could say it looked like that. I would say I was just very frustrated, but that’s no excuse for the lack of effort I showed on tape. And I just can’t-do that. Being one of the leaders on the team and being a guy that people count on, I can’t put that type of stuff on film.”
Cowboys star running back was also asked what his coach Jason Garrett had to say to him. He stated that both coach and the entire team talked to him, so to say “addressed it in-house.”
“It’s definitely not me. It’s definitely not the type of player I am. It’s definitely not who I am for this team. I just can’t-do that. I was frustrated, and I wasn’t myself.”
Looking back at his performance, it clearly wasn’t Ezekiel Elliott we all know and love. During the game, he had only nine carries and eight yards. A career low for this player, the numbers he didn’t have since he was a freshman in college. The Elliott’s bad outing only added fuel to the fire after a massive 42-17 loss.
Despite the criticisms coming from every corner of the football world, Ezekiel said that within Cowboys locker room he has all support he needs.
“We really don’t care what you guys say. We don’t care what the critics say. We don’t go out there and play for you guys. We don’t go out there and play for the talking heads. We don’t go out there to play for you guys to say we did well. We go out there and play for each other. We go out there to win ballgames. We go out there to have each other’s back. So that’s our motivation. We don’t need anything extra.”
The next match Cowboys play is on the Monday Night Football versus Arizona Cardinals. So, in a few days, 2016 rushing champion will have a chance to get back on track.
