News: BTB: Cowboys News: Dak and Zeke ‘blow the 49ers off the field’ in Sunday’s rout

But there was much more good for the Cowboys. Ezekiel Elliott picked right up where he left off at the end of the Green Bay Packers game. He had 89 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, playing an instrumental part in staking Dallas to a 20-3 halftime lead. And he had the longest pass reception of the game on a 72 yard screen play for a touchdown on the Cowboys’ first possession of the second half - that incidentally led to Jeff Heath’s first PAT of his career in relief of Bailey. It bounced off the right upright, but it got through, which is what mattered. (Heath would go 2 for 3 on PATs and handle the kickoff duties the rest of the way after Bailey’s injury.) Elliott would wind up with 147 yards rushing, 219 yards total from scrimmage, and three total touchdowns. Meanwhile, Dak Prescott had 234 yards and three touchdowns passing, and added a rushing score of his own.

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The Cowboys were still not a perfect football team, but they were obviously a much better one than their opponent. It was a game they should have won going in, and that they very much needed to win. They took care of business, and did so in a convincing manner, and even got several of the down roster players some reps late (Green came in for Tyron Smith in the fourth quarter as well). A loss would have been almost crippling to their hopes for the playoffs. This win not only kept those alive, it added more than a bit of evidence that the team is finally getting things on track in all phases.
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** This was really the first time the Cowboys came out and punished a team with the running game for an entire half. After the 49ers fumbled a punt early in the game, the Cowboys immediately handed the ball to Zeke Elliott four consecutive times. He bulled his way in for a 1-yard touchdown run and it set the tone for the rest of the game. Elliott had 15 carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He used a Jonathan Cooper pancake block to score from 25 yards out and put the Cowboys up, 14-0. This was exactly what this offensive line needed to get back to its identity. Maybe Elliott had let the off-the-field drama get to him a bit in past games, but he looked exactly like last season's version of himself Sunday. The Niners' only hope may have been Elliott not obtaining that TRO. He added a 72-yard touchdown catch in the second half. Cooper got downfield and made a nice block on a linebacker. Still, it's pretty stunning to see Elliott tight-rope the sideline and then run away from defensive backs. The Cowboys need to get every last ounce of Elliott's production the next couple weeks before the next court hearing.
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The bye week appears to have been good to the Dallas Cowboys.

After taking a week to recover from their heartbreaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 5, the Cowboys rolled into San Francisco and put together their most complete performance of the season, blowing the 49ers off the field, 40-10. The Boys were led, as was so often the case last year as they sprinted to a 13-3 record, by the star backfield duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.
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1. Zeke was fed

Ezekiel Elliott was the best player on the field Sunday and he showed it over and over again. Elliott and the Cowboys running game picked up right where they left off before the bye. During the fourth quarter against Green Bay, Elliott rushed 13 times for 85 yards. He talked recently about how he thought that quarter of play could have kick-started the running game.
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4. Dak to Dez

Another good sign was seeing Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant on the same page in the passing game. Bryant caught seven of his 10 targets for 63 yards and a touchdown. The Cowboys' offense can't reach its potential without those two playing like they did Sunday.

Again, it was against an awful team, but they connected on several different routes during the offense's most dominant showing of the year.
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Confidence - The Cowboys needed a blow out win over a team that was winless. They didn’t want to squeak out a win, or, dare I say it... lose. They wanted to crush an opponent to get the feeling that they are playoff-worthy.
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Kellen Moore - Let the Cooper Rush era begin! Moore was inactive for the first time with Rush getting the call as the backup. Not only was Rush active, but he actually got to play, coming in late in the fourth quarter.
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The NFL on Friday afternoon asked a U.S. district judge in New York to move up the next step in Elliott's legal fight against a six-game suspension by NFL. The league wants a hearing on a preliminary injunction to take place next week; it was initially slated for 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30 at Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in New York City.

If it is moved to next week, it's possible judge Katherine Polk Failla could rule before Dallas' Oct. 29 game at Washington.

The decision on the injunction could keep Elliott on the field for the rest of the season or clear the way for the suspension to finally be enforced.
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"The players negotiated the authority of the commissioner in the collective bargaining agreement," Aikman said. "If you're asking me, he's going to serve six games. [It's] just a matter of when he's going to serve it."
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Without the injunction preventing the NFL's suspension, Elliott would be out until Dec. 10. With it, Elliott would probably be eligible to play the rest of the season.

With what Elliott did in Sunday's 40-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys are hoping Fallia sides with their running back.

Elliott was dominant. He rushed 26 times for 147 yards and scored on runs of 1 yard and 25 yards. He opened the second half with a 72-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass from Dak Prescott. His three touchdowns matched a career high. He also had three (two rushing, one receiving) in last year's win at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Jeff Heath did something Sunday at San Francisco that hadn’t been done on an NFL field in 37 years.

The Dallas Cowboys’ safety was the emergency fill-in for kicker Dan Bailey, who was unavailable for the final three quarters after suffering a groin injury.

Heath made two of three extra-point attempts in the Cowboys’ 40-10 win over the 49ers to become the first non-kicker or punter to make at least two PATs in a game since Houston Oilers linebacker Ted Thompson in 1980.


Jeff Heath with the extra point, kisses the goalpost as it goes thru, Cowboys take a 27-3 lead after Zeke’s 3rd TD of the day. pic.twitter.com/Sfp02CPzrW

— Cowboys Nation (@cowboyszone) October 22, 2017

pic.twitter.com/3E6hk92fGN

— David Helman (@HelmanDC) October 22, 2017​

25-yard @EzekielElliott TD run! #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/kh9mG3z45C

— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2017

RT if you loved everything about this touchdown AND the extra point. #DALvsSF pic.twitter.com/NUfuVIF9Ta

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 22, 2017

.@JasonWitten ONE HAND TOUCHDOWN CATCH!

Beautiful. #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/nMWkMOIr6W

— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2017

.@Dak will do it himself! #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/vNl62dazm6

— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2017

.@thejaylonsmith coming through! #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/VSIZYypDkA

— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2017​