Posted on November 5, 2017, by Travis Pulver
Fans of the Dallas Cowboys thought they had seen the last of their running back for the time being. They and everyone else thought Ezekiel Elliot was going to finally start his six-game suspension this week. But then late in the week, the court system gave him another reprieve. He’ll likely start it next week, but at least he could play one more time before the suspension kicks in.
As far as Dallas fans are concerned, it’s better than nothing. If it ends up being his last for the next month and a half, at least it was a good one.
Via @dallascowboys
Elliot ran for 93 yards and a touchdown to help the Cowboys take down the Chiefs, 28-17, in front of an elated home crowd. Dez Bryant didn’t hold back after the game when he talked about Elliot:
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“We know how much he means to this team. Zeke is our No. 1 weapon,” Bryant said (Star-Telegram). “That’s our guy and he’s an animal. We’re behind him regardless of any situation.”
Dak Prescott had a solid day as well completing 21 of 33 pass attempts for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Terrance Williams was on the receiving end of a significant portion of those yards with nine receptions for 141 yards.
But it was Cole Beasley that hauled in both touchdown receptions (four receptions for 24 yards and two scores).
The defense did their part and played well overall. Kareem Hunt was held to just 37 yards on nine carries. Alex Smith completed a high percentage of his passes (25/34), but solid tackling helped limit his passing yards on the night (263).
While Smith did throw a pair of touchdown passes, he also threw his first interception of the season. But one of those touchdown passes is going to make every highlight reel across the country.
It came at the end of the first half. With 13 seconds on the clock, their only hope was for a big play. Dallas knew this and had their prevent defense in the game to make sure the play wasn’t too big. But they forgot to do one thing— play football.
Rather than come up and try to make a play on Tyreek Hill, the waited for him to come to them. What sort of chance does a bunch of defensive backs standing still have against a speed demon like Tyreek Hill running at full speed?
None.
“I was eating my hot dog,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said when asked about the play (Stamford Advocate). “Seriously, it was the kind of thing, we all know the momentum is the best thing you can do to be in the ballgame. This team had every right, every reason to get down. They did not. That’s the thing I’m proud of today.”
Kansas City scored on their opening drive of the second half to take a 17-14 lead. But it would be a short-lived lead. Elliot scored his touchdown on the next drive to give Dallas back the lead, 21-17. After the defense forced a three and out, the offense responded with another touchdown drive to extend the lead to 28-17.
Via @LandryHat
With roughly nine minutes left, the Chiefs had time to pull off a comeback. But they had to score quickly if they were going to have a shot. But Jeff Heath intercepted Alex Smith on the Chiefs next drive effectively ending any chance of a comeback.
The Aftermath
Dallas got a much-needed win with the likelihood that Elliot’s suspension will start next week. While catching Philadelphia will be hard, they are still in line for a wild-card spot. With how their defense is playing now, it is not hard to picture the Cowboys going 4-2 without Elliot. If they can manage that, they’ll have a good shot at one of the wild cards.
Kansas City has to figure out what happened to their offense. Their defense is not built to carry the team. If the Chiefs can’t figure out how to get Kareem Hunt back on track, they’ll probably still win the division, but they’ll lose in the wild-card game.
They should have no trouble bouncing back next week against the New York Giants.