Dud: Ezekiel Elliott, RB
Though Ezekiel Elliott has enjoyed some big games over the past few weeks, his last two outings have been more in line with what fans have been seeing. The star running back is not making people miss with any kind of consistency and, if the line isn’t playing well and opening up big holes, he’s going to get bottled up. That’s what happened against a Lions defense that has been gashed this season.
Elliott finished Sunday’s contest with only 16 carries for 45 yards, though he did have an impressive touchdown run. Even still, his long run of the day was for only eight yards, which is indicative of his overall ineffectiveness right now. Though Prescott has been able to shoulder the load, if Dallas wants to get going into the playoffs, they need Zeke to snap out of this funk.
Stud: Chidobe Awuzie, CB
Yes, Jeff Driskel had more success against the Cowboys defense than anyone wanted to see. However, one player who was not a factor in the passing attack was Lions star wide receiver Kenny Golladay. And the reason that Golladay was limited to only one catch for 34 yards on five targets was the performance of cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who had his best game of the 2019 season.
Awuzie has had his ups and downs this season, getting flagged far more often than you’d like and getting burned at times. Against a tough matchup like Golladay, who he followed for much of the Week 11 contest, Awuzie stepped up to the challenge and performed wonderfully. He was in Golladay’s hip-pocket all day long an limited the effectiveness of a big-play threat for Detroit.