Ezekiel Elliott challenges his team despite third-straight win

The Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott issued a challenge to his team following their third-straight win and rising to a 3-1 record. Elliott was not satisfied with his team’s effort from start to finish, in a statement released via Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken.

Ezekiel Elliott’s challenge to his team

“I think our next step as a football team is going out there and choking out [an opponent],” stated Elliott after the Cowboys’ win over the Carolina Panthers. “I think last week and this week we had opportunities to end the game early, but we kind of let them hang around.”

After falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 of the regular season, the Cowboys have won three straight games to take control of their division. During this time, Elliott has had a much better season with his friend and quarterback Dak Prescott on the field and healthy.

Through four games, Elliott has rushed for four touchdowns, halfway to his total touchdown production in 2020 of eight. After a disappointing week 1 effort, Elliott has rushed for 103 yards per game over their three-game win streak.

One of Elliott’s best statistics for the Cowboys is zero fumbles so far this year, after six fumbles in the 2020 season.

The Cowboys blew open the game against Carolina with a huge third quarter. Entering halftime losing by one, the Cowboys outscored the Panthers 20-0 in the third quarter.

Riding high from the momentum and feeling like the game was secured, the Cowboys did not close out the game in a way that Elliott wanted to see. The Panthers responded by outscoring the Cowboys 14-3 in the final quarter, and threatened to force overtime if the Cowboys didn’t secure the win with their final drive of the game.

Trevon Diggs’ breakout year

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is having himself a sophomore season for the ages.

The 2020 second-round pick out of Alabama was named September’s NFC Defensive Player of the Month just last week, after he tallied three interceptions and six defended passes — both totals leading the league — in the Cowboys’ first three games. Not only did he lead the Cowboys to a 2-1 record, but on Sunday, he outdid himself.

Diggs picked off Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold twice on Sunday. In doing so, he etched his name into Dallas Cowboys’ history books: he’s the first Cowboy since 1961 (Don Bishop) with an interception in each of the first 4 games of a season, and he’s the first Cowboy since 1968 (Chuck Howley) with five interceptions in the team’s first four games of a season.

Diggs’ first interception of the day — his fourth of the season — came early in the third quarter, when he ballhawked Darnold’s read of the pocket and stepped right in front of the receiver’s route for a relatively easy pickoff.

His second interception, on the other hand, was far from a typical interception. Diggs made an incredible leap over the Panthers’ wide receiver, diving around his outstretched arms for a full-extension interception. The second interception of the game was his fifth of the season, leading the NFL by a longshot.

On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this article.