Ezekiel Elliott was thankful for two things following Monday night's win over the Giants. 

Elliott, the Cowboys' star running back, was thankful for his offensive line, a unit that helped him rush for 139 yards on 23 carries in Dallas' 37-18 win. Elliott was also thankful that the rouge black cat that temporarily stole the show during Monday night's game didn't come close to him. 

"I'm allergic to cats," Elliott told NFL Network's Kimberly Jones after the game, "so I wasn't feeling the black cat in the middle of the game." 

Elliott did enjoy the blocking he received from his offensive line, a group that includes center Travis Frederick, guards Zack Martin and Connor Williams, and tackles La'el Collins and Tyron Smith. The unit helped the Cowboys' offense pile up 24 first downs and 429 total yards. They also didn't allow a single sack of quarterback Dak Prescott, who who went 22-of-35 for 257 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. 

"It was the easiest 140 yards I've ever gained," Elliott said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. "I don't even know If I broke a tackle (at the first level). I just ran inside the scheme. (The Cowboys' offensive line) just mauled them up front. Thank them for making it easier on me. (You) got to love the big fellas."

Elliott paused and smiled when asked to clarify his "easy" comment with regard to rushing for nearly 140 yards against the Giants. 

"They made it easy," Elliott said in reference to his offensive line. "Those big guys made it easy."

Elliott was more forthcoming when asked to assess the overall performance of the Cowboys' offense. While the Cowboys had no issues moving the ball, they did have some trouble getting the ball into the end zone, relying on three Brett Maher field goals during the game's first three quarters. Dallas' inability to fully cash in on their scoring chances allowed the Giants to pull to within one point of the Cowboys entering the fourth quarter. 

The fourth quarter, however, was a different story. Receiver Michael Gallup got things going with a 15-yard touchdown run on Dallas' first possession of the quarter. Amari Cooper's 45-yard touchdown catch on the Cowboys' next possession essentially put the game on ice. 

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis' 63-yard return of Dorance Armstrong's forced fumble of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was icing on the cake. 

"I liked the way we came out in the second half and jumped on them, but I wish that we took care of our business in the first half," Elliott said. "I think we stopped ourselves more than they stopped us in the first half. Against good football teams, when we get into the playoffs, we can't give teams that chance. Not saying [the Giants] aren't good. Every team in the NFL is good, but when you get into the playoffs, you can't afford to make those types of mistakes. But we pulled together in the second half and came back strong." 

After helping add to the misery of what has been the Giants' 2019 season, Elliott and the Cowboys will look to get out to a faster start Sunday against a 6-3 Vikings team that is surely looking to bounce back following last week's three-point loss to the Chiefs.