Ezekiel Elliott had by far his toughest day as a pro in a 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, and LaDainian Tomlinson felt the Dallas Cowboys star did not handle it well.
Tomlinson didn’t blame Elliott for gaining only eight yards on nine rushing attempts. The Cowboys’ usually dominant offensive line did not have a great game, and Elliott was hit in the backfield numerous times and had virtually no running room. However, Tomlinson was bothered by Zeke sitting alone on the bench and seemingly sulking.
“I didn’t like the way he quit today,” Tomlinson said on NFL Network’s GameDay Prime. “I didn’t like that. He absolutely quit on his team today. … First his attitude on the sideline. Clearly, he didn’t have any communication with his teammates. Sometimes when things are going wrong, as a leader of that team, as a captain, you have to step up and rally the troops.”
Here’s the full context of Tomlinson’s remarks:
Wow, Ladainian Tomlinson talking about Zeke tonight on @nflnetwork's NFL GameDay Prime: pic.twitter.com/zhzDkZYOLf
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 18, 2017
In addition to sitting alone on the bench, Elliott appeared to dog it instead of looking to make a tackle after one of Dak Prescott’s two interceptions.
The Cowboys haven’t lost many games since Elliott and Prescott joined them, so you can understand why Zeke was shell-shocked during a blowout loss. Still, the 22-year-old should take a page out of his quarterback’s book with the way Prescott kept fighting and some of the things he said to reporters after the game. Winning in the NFL is about overcoming adversity. Elliott needs to show he can do that on days he’s not carving up opponents.
