Cowboys back in playoffs with older, wiser Prescott, Elliott

Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott soared to The very Greater of the NFC as twin rookie stars for the Dallas Cowboys 5 years in the past.

It is not Tons thOn the quarteragain and working again Did not respect the second and The prospect, and there are better causes To elucidate why Inexpertised Bay beat Dallas Inside their playoff debut (Aaron Rodgers Can be A great place To start out).

Age and expertise, although, have a Method of serving to recreationrs understand the time is now. Prescott and Elliott are good examples as Dallas (12-5) heads Proper into a house wild-card recreation in the direction of San Francisco (10-7) on Sunday.

“Age and expertise Is A unbroken reminder of how rattling exhausting It is to win On this league,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I really feel you expertise it Each week. It’s exhausting to win one recreation. And now the event starts.”

Since revenueable NFL Offensive Rookie of the Yr, Prescott has missed the playoffs twice when healthful and made it again as quickly as, getting his first postseason win earlier than a divisional-spherical loss to The l. a. Rams By way of the 2018 season.

Fifteen months later, he has An alternative for his second playoff victory As a Outcome of the Cowboys Try and Obtain the NFC championship for The primary time As a Outcome of the final of the storied franchise’s 5 Super Bowl titles 26 years in the past.

“Being older now, being six years into this and as I said, actually simply going again to not making the playoffs the years that we didn’t and being harm final year, that alone is enough that I don’t take any second As a right,” Prescott said. “I really feel Greater than something it’s about sharing it to the youthful guys and The completely different guys That will not have been through the issues I’ve been through or been Inside the league as prolonged, Guarantee they Know it’s a ‘now’ mentality.”

Elliott’s six-recreation suspension over home violence allegations performed An monumental position Inside the Cowboys lacking the playoffs in his second year with Prescott. In distinction to his againfield mate, The two-time dashing champion endured all of final season, when McCarthy’s Dallas debut was ruined by Prescott’s damage and a poor protection.

This season, Elliott has performed through a knee damage sustained in Week 3, by no means lacking a recreation However in addition going And by no means using a 100-yard displaying As a Outcome of the fifth recreation.

With out The primary 17-recreation common season, Elliott would have accomplished with a profession low in yards dashing. Instead, he ran for 87 in a 56-21 victory over Philadelphia, getting a hug from McCarthy when he acquired here to the sideline after the carry that gave him 1,002 yards for the season.

“I really feel it reveals you who Zeke is, not solely as a participant, but A particular person,” McCarthy said of the working again who primarily refused To take a seat. “Take A look On The biggest technique he’s ingrained Inside the locker room. Yeah, he was not going To overlook a recreation. That’s simply The biggest technique he’s wired. And he does Tons extra for us Than merely run the soccer. We’ve On A daily basis acknowledged that.”

Elliott has missed one recreation As a Outcome of of damage in his profession. His 1,650 carries since Getting into the league are one shy of 250 Greater than the No. 2 working again on that itemizing, Derrick Henry, who was drafted The identical year.

Elliott (7,386 yards) and Henry (6,797) are The one two agains with Greater than 6,000 yards in these six seasons. Elliott stored having fun with To purpose to get again to this stage, the place he has averaged 103 yards with two touchdowns in three playoff video recreations.

“You don’t know, tomorrow Might be any of our final days having fun with,” Elliott said. “You don’t know What quantity of extra you’re going to get, particularly with a group like this. We simply acquired To revenue from This alternative and Take benefit of it.”

Prescott carries Greater than The load of Dallas’ postseason historic previous from the previous quarter-century. That is his first playoff recreation since signing the richest contract in membership historic previous this previous offseason, $160 million over 4 years. (Elliott acquired his $90 million extension two years earlier.)

McCarthy took Inexpertised Bay to 4 NFC championship video recreations in 12-plus seasons there, so He is expertised the formulation that has eluded the Cowboys For therefore prolonged. The coach believes that success starts with the quarteragain.

“I really feel it’s exhausting To not Converse about him without recognizing his management capability,” McCarthy said. “He requested me The completely different day, he says, ‘What Do You’d like from me?’ And that i said, ‘I want you To primarytain being precisely The way You are.’”

In Some strategies, It is the identical Prescott — and Elliott — from six years in the past. In completely differents, they’re pretty completely different.

NOTES: LB Keanu Neal has been dominated out in the direction of the 49ers with chest and elbow accidents. … RB Tony Pollard (foot), S Jayron Kearse (hamstring), LT Tyron Smith (knee/ankle) and TE Sean McKeon (neck) Do not have damage designations, which means They Need to play. … Smith, Kearse, LB Micah Parsons and CB Anthony Brown have been activated from the COVID-19 itemizing this week after being out in the direction of the Eagles.

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