Thanksgiving 2019: Jerry Jones Expects 2-3 Ezekiel Elliott Touchdowns

Following a 13-9 loss to the New England Patriots, the Dallas Cowboys are in need of a victory to right the proverbial ship and keep their playoff hopes alive in the competitive NFC. They also need to impress owner Jerry Jones to prevent him from making any drastic changes to the staff and roster. However, the longtime Cowboys owner did reveal that he expects his team to defeat the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving, and he is ready for him to produce in a major way.

“I think you’re gonna see a driven, motivated Dallas Cowboys team, coaching staff,” Jones said during an appearance on WFAA. “Not to imply that they have not been motivated…I think you can expect to see Zeke a lot tomorrow, hopefully coming in this endzone, maybe in those red kettles 2 or 3 times.”

For context, the comment about red kettles dates back to Elliott’s rookie season in 2016. The Cowboys were hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Sunday night battle. After scoring a touchdown to help his team achieve victory, Elliott jumped into the massive Salvation Army red kettle. He was penalized but not fined for this action.

Interestingly enough, this action generated a massive increase in donations for the Salvation Army. According to a report by The Undefeated, the organization raised $180,971 in donations, many of which were sent in $21 dollar increments to match Elliott’s jersey number. The first-round draft pick even added another donation of his own, sending $21,000 to the Salvation Army.

This trend continued in 2018 when Elliott scored another touchdown and involved the red kettle in his celebration. However, he didn’t jump in the kettle this time. Instead, he dropped a $21 donation and called for the fans to match with donations of their own.

Since signing a massive contract with the Dallas Cowboys that makes him the highest-paid player at his position, Elliott is now someone that can afford to make bigger donations. He did just that on Tuesday, sending $100,000 to the organization in partnership with the $150,000 donated by the Cowboys.

If Elliott does indeed score multiple touchdowns on Sunday as Jones hopes, will he celebrate each one by jumping into the kettle? It’s possible that doing so will result in some penalties for his team, but he could also inspire the Cowboys fans to send in donations to the Salvation Army.

(Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty)