ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ezekiel Elliott played for the Dallas Cowboys a week after he was left home for disciplinary reasons, and the running back had a costly fumble in the first half of a 34-6 loss to NFC East rival Philadelphia on Sunday.
Elliott fumbled into the end zone with the Cowboys in position to take a lead on the Eagles in the second quarter. Philadelphia's Cooper DeJean recovered the fumble.
“I think the guy just, you know, got his helmet on the ball,” said Elliott, who had 22 yards rushing for an offense that generated just 146 total, the fewest at home for Dallas since AT&T Stadium opened in 2009. “That’s unacceptable, fumble in the red zone. It’s disgusting, makes my stomach hurt.”
A two-time rushing champion for the Cowboys in his first seven seasons, Elliott returned to his original team this year but didn't make the trip for last week's 27-21 loss at Atlanta because he was late for meetings.
It was the first time Elliott was a healthy scratch for Dallas in any game other than a meaningless regular-season finale.
“I’m not really trying to get too much into it,” Elliott said when asked about the discipline in his first meeting with reporters since the Atlanta game. “Just putting my best foot forward.”
Dallas trailed the Eagles 7-3 when Elliott fumbled, but got another chance when Micah Parsons sacked Jalen Hurts and forced a fumble recovered by Marist Liufau.
Elliott got the first carry from the Philadelphia 6-yard line and gained 3 yards. After an incompletion, starting running back Rico Dowdle lost 2 yards on a run, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a field goal.
The fumble by Elliott was the second of five turnovers for the Cowboys. They had the same number in their previous home game, a 47-9 loss to Detroit.
“I think the main thing is taking care of the football,” Elliott said. “I think the defense did a great job of going to get the ball. Offense, we didn’t take care of it well enough.”
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Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean (33) recovers a Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott fumble in the end zone in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) fumbles the ball as he's hit by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun (53) in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The person inside the Tesla Cybertruck that burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel suffered a gunshot to the head before the explosion, officials said Thursday.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man who's been identified as Matthew Livelsberger. Officials believe the shot was self-inflicted.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.
He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday's explosion but provided no other details.
The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself."
"All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.
Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.
Authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, Kevin McMahill, the elected sheriff of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, said Wednesday. He did not release the person’s ID, however.
Copp, Richer and Long contributed from Washington.
Investigators enter a townhouse in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)
Investigators stand outside a townhouse complex in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
