Ezekiel Elliott: I Need to Step Up as Cowboys' Leader After Dak Prescott Injury

With quarterback Dak Prescott done for the season, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott told reporters that he'll need to change his leadership style to make up for a void in the locker room.

"I think I do," Elliott said, per USA Today's Jori Epstein. "I think I do need to. Just 'cause Dak, he took so much of that role. That has to be filled. I think I do." 

The 2-4 Cowboys are learning to play without Prescott for the first time since 2015 after the Mississippi State product suffered a season-ending compound fracture of his right ankle during the team's Week 5 victory over the New York Giants. Prescott had started every game since being picked in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. 

Elliott will also have to adjust to life without the quarterback, having joined the team in the same season as Prescott. The 25-year-old addressed a report from NFL Network's Jane Slater that players had lost faith in the team staff throughout their disappointing season.

"We need to keep that kind of stuff in-house," Elliott told reporters Wednesday. "Everyone look in the mirror, see what's going on, fix that and we'll be better. 

He also addressed his own struggles, with the Ohio State product having fumbled four times in six outings, as part of the team's turnover problems, per ESPN's Todd Archer: 

"We just have to move forward, period. We can't really sit here and worry about things we can't change. I'm not going to be able to change the amount of times I put the ball on the ground this year. That's not going to change at all. What I focus on, what I can control is my play from here on out so I've got to put that behind me and I can't sit back and think about that and let that affect my play going forward. I got to go out there and play a lot better football than I've played."

Elliott and the Cowboys are back in action Sunday at 1-5 Washington.