Patriots Reportedly Making This Notable Offensive Change Vs. Cowboys

Expect to see a whole lot of Ezekiel Elliott when the New England Patriots visit his former team on Sunday.

The veteran running back, who’s coming off his best game in a Patriots uniform, will have a more prominent role in New England’s offense against the Dallas Cowboys, according to a report Sunday by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

“My understanding is his role is expected to increase (Sunday) against his former team,” Rapoport said on NFL Network. “They know in this building how much this game means to him. I’m told he’s expected to get starter reps at running back.

“Will he actually start? That depends on the play. But you’re going to see an increased role from Zeke Elliott.”

That’s a surprise, as Elliott was viewed as the No. 2 behind Rhamondre Stevenson when he signed in mid-August. Stevenson started the first three games and has played more than twice as many offensive snaps as Elliott this season (159 to 77).

The former Cowboys star was the more effective rusher in last week’s 15-10 win over the New York Jets, however, finishing with 80 yards and a 5.0 yards-per-carry average and shouldering much of the workload in the second half. Stevenson had 59 yards on 19 carries (3.9 per) and had a bad drop in the passing game.

Overall this season, Elliott is averaging 4.4 yards per carry (28 attempts) while Stevenson lags behind at 2.9 (46 attempts). The latter also hasn’t shown his usual tackle-breaking ability, entering Sunday ranked last among all NFL running backs with at least 25 rushing attempts in yards after contact per carry, per Pro Football Focus. Stevenson led the league in that category last season.

“I think I need to get back to making people miss and breaking more tackles,” the third-year pro said this week.

The Elliott-Stevenson backfield battery will be looking to exploit a Dallas run defense that allowed 222 rushing yards and 7.4 yards per carry last week in an upset loss to the Arizona Cardinals. They’ll need to do it without their full assortment of blockers, however, as starting left guard Cole Strange was ruled out for the game with a knee injury. Fifth-round rookie Atonio Mafi is the favorite to start in his place.

Kickoff at AT&T Stadium is set for 4:25 p.m. ET.