Week one’s battle between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys is quickly approaching, and there is progress being made in terms of Ezekiel Elliott‘s contract extension. The star running back flew back to Dallas from Cabo on Tuesday morning, providing hope that he would be putting pen to paper by the end of the day or early on Wednesday. If so, he would be eligible to help his team start the season off with a victory over the NFC East rival.
Of course, simply having Zeke back in Dallas does not mean that this contract extension will be signed prior to week one. There are plenty of ways that the talks could break down, forcing the holdout to continue. That being said, the Giants are not anticipating that Elliott will miss the opening they. They are preparing for him to hit the field with his teammates and serve as the primary workhorse.
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“We’re going to play defense the way we have to play to defend the Cowboys,” head coach Pat Shurmur said, per CBS New York. “Certainly if Zeke is there, you have to spend special attention (on him). They have some running backs that have done well in camp that they feel good about. We have to play good team defense, regardless of who’s playing against us. There’s no telling who they’re going to line up with at this point.”
Whether or not Zeke is back with his team during week one is undetermined just yet, but for safety Antoine Bethea, he knows the type of difference that can be made by the former fourth overall pick. The Cowboys have talented backups in rookie Tony Pollard, veteran Alfred Morris, and Jordan Chunn, but Elliott is something else entirely.
“Zeke is a good player, he will make a difference,” Bethea said. “Dallas is Dallas and has its scheme. The last few years the running backs they have there have performed well, but Zeke is a very good player and you can’t take anything away from him.”
The Giants are certainly preparing for Elliott suiting up for this crucial game, but whether or not this happens will ultimately be irrelevant to the defense. They aren’t focused on stopping one single player considering that the Cowboys will still have wide receiver Amari Cooper, tight end Jason Witten and quarterback Dak Prescott on the field, as well as Randall Cobb and Michael Gallup. This offense still possesses an impressive amount of talent, even without Zeke in play, and stopping them will be the top priority for Bethea and co.
