Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott Says Calf Injury Feels 'Way Better' Than Last Week

It seems as if the Dallas Cowboys will have running back Ezekiel Elliott available for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

After missing the Week 15 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Elliott told reporters of his calf injury feels "way better":

"I feel way better than I did last week. Obviously, with the rest this weekend, it's got me feeling better. I actually got out there a little bit at practice this week, ran around in team drills, so I mean it's definitely making the right steps to be ready for Sunday. I'd just probably say the biggest difference is it feels more like a bruise pain in my calf and then last week around Saturday it started tugging on me a little bit, so that's why I wasn't able to go. But definitely feels better with the rest and looking good for this weekend."

Elliott previously said he felt a "tug" in his calf that kept him sidelined against San Francisco but insisted he was not "shutting it down" for the season.

It is a credit to Tony Pollard that the Cowboys didn't really miss their starting running back much in a 41-33 victory. He finished with 69 rushing yards, 63 receiving yards and two total touchdowns and seemed more explosive at times than Elliott has for much of the season.

While the Ohio State product led the NFL in rushing yards in two of his first four seasons, he is averaging a career-worst 3.9 yards per carry this year and has lost four fumbles.

It would not be a surprise to see the Cowboys rotate the two backs in the final two games of the season against the Eagles and New York Giants given how well Pollard played in Elliott's absence and the latter's inability to play like his typically dominant self for much of the year.

Dallas is just one game behind the Washington Football Team in the NFC East standings despite a lackluster 5-9 record and could very well find itself in the playoffs if it finishes the year with two more victories.

Having a healthy Elliott will help, but there are few better backup running backs than Pollard.