Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has never played 16 regular-season games, plus however many playoff games for which the Cowboys will qualify. So is he concerned about hitting the proverbial rookie wall?
He says, like most rookies, that he isn’t.
“I feel good, you know? I feel I’ve been taking good care of my body,” Elliott said Wednesday, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I feel fresh and just trying to stay on this routine, try to make sure I continue to stay fresh. I’m not really worried about a ‘rookie wall.’”
Given the team’s style of play, maybe he should be.
“I think the identity of the offense is just physical, being physical, going out there and wearing guys down and pulling away in the second or third or fourth quarter,” Elliott added. “We come out there and it’s pretty obvious we want to run the ball. Our game plan has been the same week in and week out. We try to run the ball, try to wear them down so in the third or fourth quarter they don’t want to be out there.”
It has worked incredibly well for Elliott, who is already closing in on a 1,000-yard season. But the Cowboys will need him to continue to perform at a high level over the balance of the year, if the Cowboys hope to get back to the conference title game for the first time since 1995 -- and beyond.