Ezekiel Elliott needs 178 yards to break Eric Dickerson's 1983 rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards—-a long shot by any measure.
And it was made even more unlikely when the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff chose to sit the running back in the fourth quarter of their 42-21 victory over the Lions Monday night. The bigger picture, it would seem, is having Elliott healthy for the playoffs.
Only, whether that's truly the case is up in the air.
"You don't want to risk anything," Elliott said Monday when asked how much he might play Sunday against the Eagles. "...I know there's a bigger purpose for this season...That's not really my call to make. I'm going to trust my coaching staff."
That coaching staff isn't exactly shedding any light, however. Asked specifically about the record and whether they plan to pursue it, head coach Jason Garrett simply said , "We don't think about that kind of stuff."
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And pretty much right on cue, leave it up to owner Jerry Jones to give a different take than the people actually making the decisions.
"We'll see how it goes," Jones said Tuesday in his weekly radio show with KRLD in Dallas. "He certainly will play and will play a lot, but you can never tell. He might find a good running situation up there and he may approach that record."
What we do know is that Elliott will be on the field to some extent. So, from that perspective, it's in his hands for at least two or three quarters. And considering he'll be up against the NFL's 19th-ranked rushing defense at 105.5 yards per game, whether or not he gets the record could go down to the 11th hour.
