National Football League

Ezekiel Elliott has already passed Emmitt Smith in the Cowboys' rookie record book

Published Dec. 9, 2016 1:02 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Credit the offensive line or Zeke himself, whichever you prefer. Either way, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is out here topping some of the legends in Dallas football history.

With two more scores in the Cowboys' 31-26 win over the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving Day, Elliott matched Emmitt Smith's rookie mark of 11 rushing touchdowns. On top of that, Elliott has rushed for 1,199 yards (4.9 yards per carry) in his first year, as well; compared to Smith's 937 total rushing yards in 15 starts in 1990, it seems fair to say that Elliott has eclipsed Smith's rookie season with five games remaining in 2016.

Elliott is now just one rushing TD shy of tying Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker's shared Cowboys' rookie record (12), and he's already passed both of those players in rushing yards. Dorsett ran for 1,007 yards on 208 carries in 1977; Walker tallied 737 yards on 151 rushes in 1986.

Of course, Walker is way out in front of Elliott as a receiver, as he caught 76 passes for 837 yards and two TDs as a rookie. Elliott, meanwhile, has 24 receptions for 303 yards and one score. Yet with just 72 more total yards from scrimmage, Elliott would also surpass Walker's Cowboys rookie RB record of 1,574 yards from scrimmage.

Elliott could take aim at several NFL-wide records next but it will be a tall order. He still trails Eric Dickerson by 609 yards for most rushing yards by a rookie running back, but that's not all. Dickerson also leads Elliott by 710 yards for most yards from scrimmage (2,212)— and has an eight-touchdown lead for most TDs by a rookie RB. So Elliott would need to average 142 yards per game over the final five weeks — a hair greater than the 136.5 he's averaging now — to match Dickerson.

Time to go to work, Zeke.