Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott only mustered eight yards on nine carries Sunday in a 42-17 loss to the Denver Broncos — leading Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson to accuse Elliott of quitting on his team.
Tomlinson, appearing on NFL Network’s NFL GameDay Prime, said he didn’t like the way Elliott “quit on his team today,” adding Elliott “absolutely quit.”
He blamed Elliott’s attitude on the sideline.
“Clearly, he didn’t have any communication with his teammates,” Tomlinson said. “But also, he didn’t want to talk to his teammates. Some times when things are going wrong, as a leader of that team, as a captain, you have to step up and rally the troops. You have to go to the offensive line and say, ‘I know it’s tough but let’s keep battling, let’s keep fighting.’ You have to go to the quarterback and say, ‘Hey man, I’m not getting it done today — you have to step it up.’ You have to rally the troops.”
Tomlinson said everyone looks at Elliott as a “top dog” since he led the league in rushing as a rookie last year.
“If you want to be the top dog, you have to do it on and off the field,” Tomlinson said.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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