The Dallas Cowboys elected not to play running back Ezekiel Elliott in the 2018 NFL season finale versus the New York Giants. It seems Elliott has already started to see the benefits of the extra rest.

It is no secret that the Cowboys have relied heavily on the run game in the 2018 campaign. According to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, head coach Jason Garrett is optimistic that he will be fresh for the start of the postseason:

“He’s been banged up a little bit with different parts of his body,” Garrett said. “We just felt like it was the right thing for him to not be a part of it yesterday. I do think he’ll be fresher going forward.”

It is encouraging to see that the extra rest has already started to pay some huge dividends for Elliott. He enjoyed yet another spectacular season as the Cowboys' workhorse after securing his second rushing title in three years. Of course, it is only natural that his heavy workload has left him a bit banged up going into the playoffs.

Although Elliott was able to get his rest in Week 17, the same cannot be said for the rest of the team. Garrett caught plenty of flak for playing his starters so late in a meaningless game. It was clear that Dallas wanted to clean some things up before the postseason. There is no doubt that the Cowboys will look to feed Elliott has much as possible in the Wild Card next week versus the Seattle Seahawks. However, they will need Prescott to step up his game in order to prevent the formidable Seahawks defense from stacking the box.