Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott receives criticism, accepts

FRISCO, Tex. -- Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott made no attempt to challenge an allegation of him quitting on his team from Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson after watching him stand and walk off the field, not even attempting to make a tackle following a Dak Prescott interception against Denver.

Elliott owned up to his actions and took full responsibility.

"I definitely heard it," Elliott said. "I guess you could say it looked like that. I would say I was just very frustrated, but that's no excuse for the lack of effort I showed on tape. I just can't do that. Being one of the leaders on the team and being a guy that people count on, I can't put that type of stuff on film."

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett showed the play and addressed it in front of the team. He said the second-year running back handled it the right way and they are ready to put the situation behind them.

"Yeah, Zeke is a professional," Garrett said. "Zeke knows how to play football at this level. He's demonstrated that over the course of his career. He's not perfect. Nobody is perfect. When things happen, we address them. We coach them and then we move forward."

Elliott is moving forward, but also understood this was something he had to address. And he said didn't like what he saw on film, regarding an effort that was very uncharacteristic of himself.

The 2016 NFL leading rusher, who is also the foundation of the Cowboys offense, blamed it on being frustrated with having the worst performance of his life and the helplessness of the Cowboys' blowout loss.

"Just bad effort," Elliott said. "It's definitely not me. It's definitely not the type of player I am. It's definitely not who I am for this team. I just can't do that. I was frustrated, and I wasn't myself."