Getty Cowboys RB Tony Pollard
Following an eye-opening outing in Sunday’s upset victory at Los Angeles, the Dallas Cowboys are committing more snaps to Tony Pollard.
Team vice president Stephen Jones confirmed in a radio interview Monday that the electric third-year running back, who could be on the verge of overtaking starter Ezekiel Elliott, “certainly deserves to get his touches.”
“We did say it last week, we do have to get him more touches,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “He’s a dynamic player, I think he’s a great complement to Zeke. He’s got the skill set that he can actually be a wide receiver if that’s what’s needed from him … the common theme is he certainly deserves to get his touches.”
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Pollard Had a Day in L.A.
A featured component of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s game plan, Pollard led the Cowboys with 109 rushing yards and one touchdown on 13 carries, averaging 8.4 yards per tote amid the club’s Week 2 win. He added 31 yards across three receptions, exhibiting an explosive quality that has lacked under Elliott’s reign as RB1.
“His suddenness,” Moore lauded in a Monday press conference, per USA Today. “He makes his decision and goes.”
Elliott, by contrast, carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards (4.4 YPC) and one TD, and caught two passes for 26 yards.
“Oh man, I mean, T.P., he ran his tail off today,” Elliott said during his postgame press conference. “He’s a great back, all-around, can catch it, can run it. He’s smaller, but he runs hard. He breaks a lot of tackles. He had a helluva day. I’m proud of him. I’m glad he went out there and did his thing.”
“We just wanted to go with who was hot,” Pollard added. “We both feed off each other, so if he was hot, we would have just went that way. It just turned out that way for this game, and we got the dub.”
Through two games, Pollard (123 rushing yards; 7.7 YPC) has outperformed Elliott (104; 3.9) despite seeing 11 fewer carries (27-16). And while the backfield is veering — justifiably — toward a timeshare, the “hot” back insists there’s no controversy between starter and backup.
“Yeah, we’re good, as long as we’re getting Ws, you know winning, everything’s fine,” Pollard said.
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Jones Praises Cowboys’ Fast Start
Nobody will confuse Dallas’ effort against the Chargers for the Greatest Show on Turf. But credit where it’s due: the unit got off to a white-hot start at SoFi Stadium. Prescott and Co. scored on two of their first three possessions en route to a 20-17 conquest, drawing effusive praise from Jones.
“It’s real important,” he said Monday on 105.3 The Fan. “Any time you start fast, and do what we did, which was go down and score it gives everybody the momentum that they need. Pretty close to getting a full group out there…we have been feeling strong on what we can do offensively with the football. I think we got off to a good start, and of course the defense getting an identity which is being able to turn the ball over…this defense is only going to get better as we move forward…I thought our defense did a real nice job.”
READ NEXT: Tony Romo Predicts Kellen Moore’s Exit from Cowboys During Week 2 Win
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Cowboys’ Jones Hints at New Roles for Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott