Dak Prescott has a suggestion for Patriots’ offense after New England’s blowout loss to Cowboys

Patriots

“They need to play him more. But hey, who am I?”

The Patriots’ already-struggling offense hit a new low during Sunday’s 38-3 loss to the Cowboys, with New England getting knocked for three total turnovers and Mac Jones ultimately getting benched in the third quarter.

Speaking after Dallas’ lopsided victory, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott offered up a suggestion for New England when it comes to tweaking their offense moving forward.

“They need to play him more,” Prescott told reporters postgame about New England running back Ezekiel Elliott. “But hey, who am I?”

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Prescott talked about Elliott after the game, given that he played alongside the former All-Pro running back for seven seasons in Dallas.

Coming off of a breakout performance against the Jets (80 yards on 16 carries) in Week 3, Elliott was more of an afterthought in New England’s offensive gameplan against Dallas on Sunday — even though NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported ahead of kickoff that Elliott was going to earn “starter reps” against his former team. 

Granted, New England wasn’t exactly going to commit to the run game after falling into a 28-3 deficit at the half. But Elliott was only handed the ball six times on Sunday, gaining just 16 yards on the ground (2.7 yards per carry). He also caught two passes for six total yards.

Elliott has been the more consistent running back so far this season in New England, although the Patriots’ ground game has struggled all season long behind a lackluster offensive line. Rhamondre Stevenson only gained 30 rushing yards on Sunday off of 14 carries — equating out to an unsightly 2.1 yards per carry.

Elliott, who was honored by the Cowboys prior to kick-off on Sunday afternoon, is averaging 4.1 yards per carry through four games with the Patriots. 

“I’m sure that he liked the tribute. I loved the tribute,” Prescott said of his former teammate. “Thought it was pretty cool. … It was pretty cool just to see how Jerry and the Cowboys planned that video for him. Giving him the respect and the honor he deserves. He had a great seven years here. I wouldn’t be the player that I am without him.”