New England Patriots' Ezekiel Elliott vs. Dallas Cowboys' Emmitt Smith in Revenge Game?
On Sunday, Ezekiel Elliott will return to Big D with the New England Patriots after being cut this offseason, but the ex-Dallas Cowboys running back can still pass legend Emmitt Smith.
Smith is a Hall of Fame running back, former MVP, and the NFL's all-time leading rusher, getting 18,355 yards during his 14-year career. However, his resume isn't immaculate, leaving a window of opportunity for Zeke to pass his Dallas predecessor in one category during just his eighth season.
When the Cowboys drafted Zeke No. 4 in the 2016 NFL Draft, they saw immediate returns on their investment. The Ohio State standout was top three in MVP voting and had nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards, with over 1,600 coming on the ground en route to being named a first-team All-Pro.
Following his stellar rookie campaign, fans were already comparing his talents to that of Dallas running back GOAT Smith, but in hindsight, Zeke failed to have the longevity of Smith. Zeke never again reached 1,500 or more yards rushing with the Cowboys, but he was still fed enough to become the franchise's No. 3 rushing yards leader all time with 8,262 yards during his time in Dallas.
On Sunday, former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will have the chance to pass an Emmitt Smith record during his revenge game with the New England Patriots.
Although Zeke will likely never pass Smith's video game-like total rushing records, especially the 17,162 rushing yards and 153 rushing touchdowns that Smith had as a Cowboy, finding a new team at the age of 28 means that he should still have more gas in the tank than Smith did when he signed with the Arizona Cardinals at age 34.
Back in 2003, when Smith returned to Dallas, his production was virtually nonexistent in that game. He had eight touches for two receiving yards and ran for negative yardage, finishing with a total of just one yard worth of production.
Now Zeke will get his opportunity to outshine the Cowboys legend and do something Emmitt failed to capitalize on - have a revenge game. Through three games this season, Zeke has averaged roughly 48 yards per game, which would easily allow him to surpass Smith's one-yard total against his former team.
And if the Patriots feed Zeke in Week 4? He could potentially turn back the clock and remind his ex what they're missing.
How this weekend's game plays out in the history books remains to be seen, but it's safe to assume that Zeke will pass Smith in the record books when it comes to "revenge game yardage'' in Dallas.
