FRISCO, Texas -- Ezekiel Elliott on Wednesday said he's learning to deal with the scrutiny of playing for the Dallas Cowboys.
Coach Jason Garrett benched Elliott after he fumbled twice in a span of four carries during the final six minutes of Sunday's loss to the Washington Redskins. He finished the game with 83 yards on 21 carries, but the fumbles overshadowed his runs.
"I've never been benched," Elliott said laughing Wednesday. "That's new to me.
"You gotta acknowledge what happened, and you gotta make sure you focus on your weaknesses from the week before. You've got to put it behind you, but remember at the same time so you won't make the same mistakes next week."
Elliott played better against Washington than he did in the opener against the New York Giants. Still, he's averaging just 3.27 yards per carry. In 41 carries over two NFL games, he has just one run of more than 10 yards.
Social media is in attack mode. Such criticism is new to Elliott, who gained more than 3,600 yards in his last two seasons at Ohio State and led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2014.
"I wouldn't say I'm a victim of high expectations. The expectations are going to be there," Elliott said. "I got drafted in the top five at a position that hasn't been drafted that highly in the past couple of years.
"No one can expect more out of me than myself. The criticism is what I expect, honestly, because I'm criticizing myself every day when I come in here and watch that film. I'm trying to get better."
Elliott's biggest issue has been adjusting to the Cowboys' run-blocking scheme. They want him to be slow to the hole -- giving it time to open -- then accelerate through it. Alfred Morris, the backup, has more than 1,000 career rushing attempts in this type of scheme; Elliott has less than 100, including the preseason.
The process can't be rushed.
"Coming from Ohio State, the tempo was a lot different," Elliott said. "We hit the hole 100 mph, but when you get here in the league, it's not go as fast as you can. You gotta kind of time it up a little more until you see it, then you gotta go.
"It's something I've improved on from the first week. It's definitely easier said than done."