Cowboys News: Ezekiel Elliott isn’t worried about his numbers, he just wants to win

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott focused on winning, not run stats - Clarence Hill Jr, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott isn’t focused on his low year stats-wise, he just wants to win.

Elliott has always been about team and doing whatever it takes to win, which is why he is hailed as a great blocker as well as a runner. Sure, Elliott would like the ground game to be more efficient than it has been the past couple of games when he gained 92 yards on 36 carries, an average of 2.6 per rush.

But the Cowboys are still leading the NFC East with a 6-4 mark heading into Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots (9-1).

And if the way to win now is behind the passing of quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions and leads in the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns, then he’s all for that, too.

“The passing game is rolling right now so you’ve got to ride it and ride it while it’s hot,” Elliott said. “Hopefully, it’s rolling through the rest of the season and you don’t need to run the ball. Not really looking at it that way, the receivers and Dak are rolling right now. When someone has the hot hand keep giving them the ball.

Film room: How Robert Quinn has become the Cowboys’ most productive pass rusher

The Cowboys acquired Robert Quinn for just a sixth-round pick. Now he is their best pass rusher.

The bulk of Quinn’s production has come on the back of his ever-so potent speed rush. Quinn attacks upfield, bends and flattens to the QB with the kind of speed and explosiveness reminiscent of Apolo Ohno speed skating around corners and accelerating down the stretch in the Olympics.

Any time a left tackle is getting ready to face the Cowboys, he knows that he must be ready to defend Quinn’s speed rush, as it is his calling card. Yet despite this, as any fan who watches the team knows, Quinn’s speed rush has remained incredibly potent.

Why? Glad you asked.

First off, Quinn’s effective speed rush is built off his elite get-off, great upfield burst and rare lower body flexibility, as it enables him to bend around the corner at more acute angles and higher speeds than most edge defenders in the NFL. At times this will enable Quinn to beat offensive tackles to the intersection point between Quinn’s path to the quarterback and the tackle’s pass set, where Quinn loves to employ a cross-chop to defeat a tackle’s punch or a ghost technique to evade the tackle’s strike as he carves the corner and flattens to the pocket.

For Bennett, It’s ‘Never Personal’ vs. Patriots - Rob Philips, dallascowboys.com

Former Patriot Michael Bennett has no bad feelings playing against his old team.

Just four weeks after the Cowboys dealt a conditional seventh-round pick to New England for Bennett, the veteran defensive lineman is set to line up against his old Patriots teammates in Sunday’s matchup of high-profile franchises.

“It’s never personal in the NFL. It’s always business,” Bennett said Wednesday at The Star. “I’m at the point now where I don’t have to prove myself. You go out there, you play as hard as you can, simply not for yourself but for your teammates every single time I go out there.

“It’s not really about me. It’s really about the guys lined up that are lined up next to me.”

Mick Shots: Excitement Building Off The Charts - Mickey Spagnola, dallascowboys.com

The Cowboys and Patriots matchup will be one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2019 regular season.

The 6-4 Cowboys vs. the 9-1 Patriots, certainly creating an air of excitement in these parts.

Can feel it. In this building. With the media. On talk radio. Even somewhat in the locker room, even though the standard response seems to be this is the next game.

OK, fine, but some game it is. And not just because the Cowboys are heading up to Foxborough, Mass., to play the Patriots where they have not won a game since 1987 – three straight losses there. But knowing the Cowboys need to string a few victories together if they want to accomplish their first goal of 2019: Become the first team in the NFC East to win back-to-back division titles since the Eagles in 2003-04.

Because face it, a one-game lead over the Eagles with six to go is no cushion whatsoever.

Jason Witten Calls Matchup Vs. Patriots ‘Defining Game’ For Cowboys - Scott Edwards Jr, NESN.com

Veteran tight end Jason Witten realizes how big the matchup against New England could be for this Cowboys team.

Witten discussed the upcoming game and was asked if the matchup against the Patriots was a measuring-stick type affair.

“Yeah, I think it is,” Witten said, as transcribed by The Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehliken. “These are defining games that happen. You look at last year’s season … and you beat a good New Orleans team. This is one of those games. There’s still a lot of games out there, so I don’t think it’s make or break. But at the same time, to be able to go on the road and play against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and their team — they’re 9-1 like they are. A great opportunity for us.”

Despite the way analysts have been looking at the Patriots this season, it is clear that teams in the league still view them as the “stepping stone” to becoming great in this league.

Randall Cobb is Finding His Groove in Dallas, has 2nd Consecutive 100-Yard Game - Matthew Lenix, Inside The Star

Randall Cobb has picked up his production in a big way over the past two weeks.

The 2019 season started off well for Cobb against the New York Giants. He caught four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown on five targets in the Cowboys 35-17 victory. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a sign of things to come in the near future. In his next seven games, he failed to reach 30 yards three times and only had one game over 50 yards. Also, he didn’t reach the end zone over that span, making him a forgotten man in the offense. However, the last two games have shown he’s fully capable of playing at a high level even as a third option.

When the Minnesota Vikings came to AT&T Stadium in Week 10 the Cowboys offense would face one of the NFL’s top defensive units, but Dak Prescott and Cobb didn’t get that memo. The two connected six times for 106 yards and a touchdown, making it the first game Cobb has gone over the century mark since his 142-yard performance in the 2018 season opener vs the Chicago Bears.

BTB Podcast

We brought in Bernd Buchmasser from Pats Pulpit to give us all of the information we need regarding the New England Patriots. You can listen to our chat on The Ocho.

Make sure that you never miss an episode from Blogging The Boys by subscribing to the Blogging The Boys podcast feed!

Here’s how Cowboys fans are feeling entering Week 12.