Cowboys injury report: Ezekiel Elliott officially out against Packers

For the first time in his NFL career, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will miss back-to-back games because of an injury.

Until just over an hour before kickoff, Elliott was still deemed questionable.

The RB1 suffered a knee sprain in the Week 7 contest again the Detroit Lions when he took a helmet directly to the knee while being tackled. Elliott was a participant in practice all week (with a knee brace) which made it feel like him taking the field on Sunday was feasible.

Here’s what Mike McCarthy said on Friday: 

"“I thought Zeke had a good day of practice,/A big part of what today is to see how the guys respond. Tomorrow [Saturday] will be the final test. I thought he had a quality practice, took all his reps in the team period.He did all the team period … He did everything.”"

Not only did McCarthy say that, but Jerry Jones seemed to be his typical eternal optimist self in several radio appearances. On Tuesday, the Cowboys owner was incredibly hopeful based on what he had seen from Elliott on Monday:

"“I do [think he will play]. Everything I’ve seen, I watched him yesterday, I think he’s on go.”"

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott is out vs. Green Bay Packers in Week 10

The narrative started to change a bit later in the week. Elliott was listed as questionable on Saturday’s injury report and the team chose to elevate RB Qadree Ollison on Saturday afternoon. Bringing Ollison back was the biggest sign that Elliott would likely be on the sidelines for Sunday’s game.

Ollison was called up in Week 8 when Elliott missed his first game after the knee injury. The practice squad RB had two offensive snaps and nine special team plays in the Cowboys’ win over the Bears.

However, we also know that RB2 Tony Pollard was electric in Week 8. With a Packers team on a five-game losing streak and a back like Pollard in to replace Elliott, there truly isn’t a lot to worry about in this matchup as far as the running game goes.

When taking the RB1 role in Week 8, Pollard had 149 total yards and three touchdowns while running an incredibly efficient 6.2 yards per carry. He was explosive, speedy, and found a way to make it work in both short gains and momentum-changing plays.

Even though Elliott is known for playing through pain, including almost the entirety of last season, the Cowboys seem to be taking a much more careful approach as they hope to make a long run later in the season and postseason. This move shows that Dallas trusts Pollard against a struggling team and that they care more about Elliott being available in the future than potentially forcing him in and making his injury worse.

While we wish the RB1 was playing, this seems like the smart move overall. Green Bay is also dealing with several injury issues and the Cowboys know they can get it done with Zeke on the sideline.

This is only the third game Elliott has missed in his entire NFL career.

Other inactives include Jabril Cox, Will Grier, Nahshon Wright, Markquese Bell, Anthony Barr, Chauncey Golston.

5 reasons the Cowboys will beat the Packers in Week 10

The Dallas Cowboys are 2-0 against the NFC North and look to make it three in a row as they head to Green Bay in Week 10. Here are 5 reasons they can win.