To simply say Ezekiel Elliott has had success against the Eagles would be a pretty big understatement.
Because since he entered the NFL in 2016, Elliott’s dominance over the Eagles has been historic. He’s been an absolute Eagles killer.
With the biggest game of this season on deck, the Eagles need to at least slow him down on Sunday.
“He’s one of the best backs in the league for a reason,” Malcolm Jenkins said. “We understand the challenge that’s ahead of us. We’re not just going to step off the bus and stop him. I think you see it on tape vs. pretty much everybody. So for us, we take a lot of pride in stopping the run and that will be no different this week.”
Take a closer look at just how much Elliott has dominated the Eagles since he entered the NFL:
• Elliott has never lost to the Eagles; he’s 5-0. Since 2016, the Eagles are 2-5 against Dallas and their only two wins have come without Elliott in the lineup.
• In five career games against the Eagles, Elliott has 815 yards from scrimmage (163 per game) and three touchdowns. The next closest player in scrimmage yards against the Eagles since 2016 is Sterling Shepard with 495 in seven games.
• The only players to have more scrimmage yards against the Eagles in their first four seasons were Jim Brown (1,053) and Emmitt Smith (949) and both did it in eight games. Elliott has a significantly higher average per game.
• Elliott’s 815 yards against the Eagles are the most he has against any team. Next closest: 669 against the Giants in six games (111.5).
• The fewest yards from scrimmage in any of his five games against the Eagles: 147.
• Jim Schwartz-led Eagles defenses have given up 100 yards to a running back just seven times in four years. Elliott accounts for four of those games.
Yeah, this is perhaps more than just a little dominant.
So, with the 2019 season hanging in the balance, why should we expect anything to change against Elliott on Sunday afternoon?
“Because, man, it’s all on the line,” Brandon Graham said. “When you look at the film, it’s just little stuff. One guy out of his gap, one guy here, one guy there. We’re going to try to minimize the mistakes. I feel like with the energy and us trying to get to the ball as a team, I think that’s going to help out a lot.”
This season, Elliott has put together another 1,000-yard season and has gone over 100 rushing yards in a game six times, including the Oct. 20 bashing of the Eagles at AT&T Stadium, when he rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown and added 36 as a receiver.
Take a look at his individual career games against the Birds:
Oct. 30, 2016: 22 att, 96 yards, 4 rec, 52 yards
Dec. 31, 2017: 27 att, 103 yards, 3 rec, 38 yards
Nov. 11, 2018: 19 att, 151 yards, 1 TD, 6 rec, 36, 1 TD
Dec. 9, 2018: 28 att, 113 yards, 12 rec, 79 yards
Oct. 20, 2019: 22 att, 111 yards, 1 TD, 6 rec, 36 yards
Statistically speaking, the Eagles have the third-best run defense in the NFL (90.4 yards per game) this season and have the No. 1 run defense in the league since Schwartz took over.
But they just can’t ever seem to stop Zeke.
The Cowboys’ entire offense runs through Elliott and that might be even more true this weekend thanks to Dak Prescott’s shoulder injury. The Eagles know that, but that doesn’t mean they can just load the box or blitz all day either. The Cowboys have a talented trio of receivers who can burn you if you leave them in man coverage all day.
After what was a pretty poor tackling game last week, the Eagles just have to make sure they get Elliott to the ground when they have their chances. Fletcher Cox said it’ll be important to gang tackle and make sure guys are rallying to Elliott when he has the ball. If not, Elliott will make them pay. This season, Elliott has 21 broken tackles and has averaged 2.2 yards per carry after contact.
The Eagles know all this.
They know how good Zeke is. They know how much he’s killed them in the past. There’s nothing they can say to change that.
“I hear you. True,” Graham said. “Let me tell you, man. The NFL is no easy task. Every week is hard. He’s a heck of a player. … We respect him. There’s a lot of respect given to that team. We’re going to go out there in practice and treat it as such and then in the game show up.”
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