Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington Commanders
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders
Los Angeles Chargers
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tennessee Titans
Micah Parsons has admitted he’s ‘looking forward’ to his first matchup with former teammate Ezekiel Elliott ahead of the former Cowboys running back returning to Dallas on Sunday.
The Dallas Cowboys host the New England Patriots at AT&T Stadium in Week 4. Last week the Cowboys suffered a disappointing 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, putting an unwanted blemish on their perfect start to the season through Weeks 1 and 2.
Sunday’s game marks the return of former running back Ezekiel Elliott for the first time. Zeke was released by the Cowboys back in March after seven seasons with the team, and signed a one-year deal with the Pats in August.
Micah Parsons ‘looking forward’ to first matchup with former teammate Ezekiel Elliott
A win on Sunday will move the Cowboys to 3-1 for the season, but it won’t be easy by any means. Pro Bowl linebacker Micah Parsons recently spoke about facing his former teammate Ezekiel Elliott for the first time, admitting he’s already looking forward to it.
“I feel like Zeke’s coming for me,” Parsons said via The Athletic. “He used to tell me, ‘You’re lucky I’m not out there. I’d really get you.’ If there’s ever a matchup, I’m gonna be looking forward to it, for sure. … You know Zeke, everything is gonna be funny to him. We miss his presence, the joy he brings to the locker room. It’s gonna be fun going against him.”
Elliott was drafted fourth overall by the Cowboys in 2016. In that time he was a three-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro selection, rushing for 8,384 yards and 68 touchdowns on 1909 carries in 106 games. 4,334 of those yards and 42 of those touchdowns came in Cowboys home games at AT&T Stadium.
Zeke doing his best to stay level headed despite ’emotions’ of returning to Dallas
Parsons and Elliott played two seasons together before Zeke departed Dallas earlier this year. They’re clearly still tight – in August, Parsons boldly predicted Zeke was ‘gearing up for a phenomenal 2,000-yard performance this season’:
Elliott has rushed for 122 yards on 28 carries in three games so far this season with the Patriots holding a 1-2 record. They’re coming off a solid 15-10 win against the Jets in Week 3.
Despite the inevitable emotion around Elliott’s return to Dallas this weekend, the running back is doing his best to stay level headed and concentrate on his current team.
“I don’t know what I’m necessarily expecting,” Elliott said, via the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken. “It’s definitely going to be weird, just being in a different uniform, being in a different locker room. But I think it’s going to be a good experience.”
“It’s gonna be a little bit interesting, a little bit different, going against guys that I played with for so long, but I’m not really trying to focus so much on that,” he said via the Cowboys. “I’m trying to focus on going out and winning the football game. … I don’t really have a lot of time to be emotional. I have to prepare for the game and go out there and put my best foot forward. But, there are emotions.
“I may do a good job of hiding them. There will be some emotions, but I’ve gotta go out there and perform.”