3 NFL Storylines to Watch in Week 16

Ezekiel Elliott​ Should Pick Up Where He Left Off

After serving a six-game suspension, it looks as though the Dallas Cowboys will get Ezekiel Elliott back in much better shape than how he began the season after training in Cabo, Mexico during his suspension. While there were some less than flattering photos of Elliott's gut early in the year, he certainly looked fine on the field while averaging over 25 touches per game and more than 100 scrimmage yards in eight games.

Despite losing one of their best players for an extended period of time, Dallas remained extremely effective running the football, even though the offensive line has not played as well as it did a year ago. Based on numberFire's scheduled-adjusted metrics, the Cowboys remain the top rushing offense in the league by a decent margin.

Indeed, the combination of Alfred Morris and Rod Smith filled in quite well. Over the last six games, Morris averaged 4.3 yards per carry and exceeded 90 rushing yards in two of those contests. As for Smith, he's found the end zone for a rushing touchdowns in four straight games.

Elliott draws a very interesting matchup in his first game back, at home against the Seattle Seahawks, our seventh-ranked rushing defense. However, injuries have mounted up and down their roster, especially on the defensive end. Even those that are still playing -- such as Bobby Wagner and Michael Bennett -- are putting in little to no practice time during the week in order to compete on Sunday.

And the results have not been pretty. One week after Leonard Fournette ran 24 times for 101 yards and a touchdown against them, Todd Gurley devastated Seattle for 152 rushing yards on 21 carries while scoring three touchdowns on the ground. As a receiver, he added 28 additional yards and another score.

It sounds as though Elliott should see plenty of touches in his first game back, so there should be little hesitation for fantasy managers looking to deploy him in fantasy championship matchups.