The New England Patriots finally got off the mark on Sunday, marking their first win of the new season. This came in the form of a hard-fought 15-10 victory against the struggling New York Jets side.
New England’s win was thanks in large part to running back Ezekiel Elliott, who had easily his best outing as a Patriot on Sunday. For his part, the 28-year-old already has his eye on this coming weekend’s matchup as the Patriots travel to Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4.
New England Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott Relishing Matchup Vs. Former Team
After his rather unsavory divorce with Dallas this past summer, Elliott admits that he’s very much looking forward to facing his former team on the field — especially since it’s going to be held at his former stomping ground:
“It’s going to be fun,” he said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I’m excited to go back to Dallas, a place where I have so much history, my home in the offseason,” he said. “It will be cool to get back in AT&T [Stadium].”
Elliott has a long and rich history with the Cowboys. It was Dallas who picked him No. 4 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, and he spent the first seven years of his career with the team.
After establishing himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL early on, Elliott saw a significant decline in his performance over the past couple of seasons. As such, the Cowboys decided to release him during the offseason and free themselves of the $16.7 million he was set to earn in 2023.
Elliott admits that his departure was not ideal, but at the end of the day, he also understands that the NFL is a business.
“I was definitely disappointed but everything happens for a reason,” he said. “God has his plan for us. I’m excited for this next chapter in my life. I’m excited to be a Patriot, I’m excited to go chase a Super Bowl here.”
It doesn’t sound like Elliott holds any ill will against his former team, but you can be sure that the revenge narrative is lingering on his mind.
“I’m looking at it as any other week. Just another game,” he said. “It will be fun to get back out there in front of the Dallas fans.”
Ezekiel Elliott Already Making an Impact With Pats
On Sunday against the Jets, Elliott rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries. It was his best outing with his new team as he continues to battle for snaps behind starting RB Rhamondre Stevenson.
Elliott’s outing against New York may have been an eye-opening performance of sorts, with head coach Bill Belichick already taking notice of the former All-Pro’s contributions to the squad:
“We’re getting a little bit of a feel for some of the things with him and vice versa,” Belichick said. “I thought he had a couple real good runs, thought he did a nice job getting his pads down, got some tough yards, and his vision was good on a couple cutback plays.”
So long as he is able to stay healthy, Elliott should be able to make an even bigger impact on New England in the weeks to come as he acclimatizes himself to Belichick’s system.
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