DALLAS — The Ezekiel Elliott of yore has come back for the Dallas Cowboys, and his big game against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 has earned him some national recognition.
The two-time NFL rushing champion was nominated on Monday for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for his efforts against Carolina. Elliott generated 143 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in Dallas' 36-28 win at AT&T Stadium that improved their record to 3-1 to give them early command of the NFC East.
Cowboys fans now have a chance to vote for Elliott for the honor until Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. ET at NFL.com/FedEx. Fans can also vote for Elliott on Twitter via the @NFL published polls and also on the NFL Mobile app.
The Tennessee Titans' Derrick Henry is another nominee. He carried 33 times for 157 yards and a touchdown in the 27-24 overtime loss to the New York Jets. Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery also had a decent outing with 23 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns in Chicago's 24-14 win over the Detroit Lions to round out the players up for voting.
What may give Elliott the inside edge against the other nominees is his yards per carry. While Henry had more yards, he garnered 4.8 yards per touch. While Montgomery had more touchdowns, his yards per carry was 4.6. Elliott averaged a sparkling 7.2 yards per carry and had a 47-yard run that was reminiscent of his early playing days.
Given Elliott's tenor after the win, the running back may be likely to credit his offensive line for the award, should he win it.
"The O-line, they dominated the line of scrimmage today," Elliott said following Dallas’ third win in four tries this season. "By the end of the game, [the Panthers] didn’t really want anything more to do with the run. What did we run for like 250 today? But I think we got a really nice system going right now, me and TP (Tony Pollard) keeping each other fresh, I think that’ll keep this thing going.”
During the 2021-22 NFL regular season, FedEx will make weekly donations of $2,000 in the name of the winning quarterback and running back ($4,000 total) to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) across the country.
The FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week nominees include the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, who went 24-of-30 for 278 yards and five touchdowns in the 42-30 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals completed 25-of-32 for 348 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars to earn a nomination. New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was nominated as he went 28-of-40 for 402 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-21 overtime win at the New Orleans Saints.
Are you impressed with how Ezekiel Elliott has been performing for the Cowboys so far in 2021? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
