CALIFORNIA — OXNARD Put this on your schedules. With his new contract with the New England Patriots for the 2023 NFL season, Ezekiel Elliott will finally play against the Dallas Cowboys for the first time in his historic NFL career.

His decision to stop wearing No. 21 and return to his old number from his time with the Buckeyes is another telling indicator of his outlook and attitude heading into his eighth season in the NFL.

That sets up a battle between Elliott and the Cowboys on Sunday, October 10 (Week 4), at AT&T Stadium, a venue that is familiar to Dallas’ previous fourth-overall choice.

Aim for the 15 and go live, Patriots!

Twitter post by Ezekiel “Zeke” Elliott Tuesday, August 14th, 2023Jerry Jones, owner and general manager of the Cowboys, repeatedly said after releasing Elliott that the door would stay open until he joined with another team, but the Patriots have slammed it shut (at least for the time being).

As things stand, Tony Pollard will sit atop the Dallas offense in 2023 thanks to the franchise tag, while the rest of the roster is filled out in preseason.

Elliott, now 28, joined the Cowboys as a top-five draft selection in 2016, and he immediately broke many team records, including those previously held by Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker. At the end of the season, he would run for 1,631 yards and total 1,994 yards (averaging 108.7 yards per game).

He had a stellar career with the Cowboys, where he won two running titles and was named to the All-Pro team three times.

Elliott left the Cowboys with 8,262 rushing yards, third on the team’s all-time list behind Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith. He also finished fifth all-time in rushing touchdowns, trailing only Dorsett (72). This was despite playing in 54 fewer games than Dorsett and in a pass-heavy era in professional football.

His “feed me” gesture became a cultural phenomenon whenever Elliott made a play, and he ranked third in the NFL in 100-yard games and fifth in scrimmage yards. However, the Cowboys have what is arguably the best defense in the NFL in 2023, so their early October matchup should be exciting.

Although they never faced each other in college, the addition of first-round pick Mazi Smith adds some extra spice to this situation because Smith hails from Michigan and Elliott is a former superstar for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

It also helps that Elliott has faced up against this defense quite a bit in practice, despite the addition of some new faces (including Mazi Smith, DeMarvion Overshown, and Stephon Gilmore).

Elliott’s time with the Cowboys has made him a legend in Dallas, but he’ll have to try and play for another team in October.

Elliott rushed for 10,598 yards and scored 80 times.