NFC Notes: Ezekiel Elliott, Lane Johnson, CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys, Eagles

Cowboys

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott said he has spoken with the team about his usage and their plans for him after recording just 30 carries through five games this season. Team owner Jerry Jones said that the team is taking a longer view when it comes to the veteran running back.

“That’s an exaggeration,” Jones said. “Dumbfounded is an exaggeration, a mischaracterization. It’s a bad description of how he feels about things. He’s very much aware of the part of the running game that he’s involved with. More importantly — and I can’t emphasize this enough — we’re saving him and we should be. . . . Zeke is there, he will be there because we want to protect him during this particular time.”

Cowboys

Dallas WR CeeDee Lamb has struggled in the second half of games this year, recording just one reception in the fourth quarter so far heading into Week 6. Lamb credited the adjusted defensive game plans and coverages for his late-game struggles.

“What happens is we pop off early on and obviously nobody wants to see that for the second half of the game, so they do a great job of making halftime adjustments, bringing two (defenders),” Lamb said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Nine times out of 10 I’m getting cloud (coverage). Kudos to them. They’re doing a great job stopping the bleeding. But we’re still winning, so it’s cool.”

“But it’s cool, though. I got to find different ways to be effective in the game. I understand that. And I will.”

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy explained how the cloud coverage Lamb saw in Week 5 makes it tough to get him the ball.

“That’s football,” McCarthy added. “That’s the way the games go. They were clouding to (Lamb) pretty much the whole game, so as far as how many opportunities that he had inside, those are the things you have to look at. This is not seven-on-seven. There’s protection and all those things that go with it. I just think that’s the way these games go sometimes.”

• Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis was fined $11,255 for Unsportsmanlike Conduct (taunting), and S Donovan Wilson was fined $11,255 for Unnecessary Roughness (late hit) in Week 5.

Eagles

Eagles RT Lane Johnson didn’t think the team’s offense was flowing like it should have been in the team’s Week 6 win over the Browns and let loose some of those thoughts after the game.

“We’re a constipated offense,” Johnson said, via Dave Zangaro of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “That’s what it f*****g feels like. . . . We’re definitely frustrated. We have a lot of ability, a lot of talent and we are making games more competitive than they need to be. It’s something that we’ve got to fix. As far as talent-wise, this is one of the more loaded offenses I’ve been a part of but we still have to go prove it.”