Those who want Tony Pollard as the full-time starting running back of the Dallas Cowboys need to retire that fantasy next to meeting the real Santa Claus, and this current election cycle ever ending.
Pollard’s numbers are better, and when he has the ball in his hands he looks better than the guy who starts in front of him.
Also, Ezekiel Elliott is the starting running back, and he will be whenever he can return from his latest injury.
Zeke missed the Cowboys’ win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday with a sprained knee, and he turned into one of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders watching Pollard do everything possible to steal his job.
Against Chicago, Pollard ran 14 times for 131 yards with three touchdowns, and caught one pass for 16 yards. He called it the No. 1 game of his NFL career.
The Cowboys have not seen that type of production from Zeke in a troubling amount of time. The last time Zeke hit numbers like that was Week 4 of the 2021 season, when he ran for 143 yards in a win against Carolina.
“We go as Zeke goes. … He’s as important as he was before the game,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the media flock after the win.
Not sure everyone believes that, but the Cowboys do.
Pollard averages 6.2 yards per carry, has rushed for 506 yards and scored five touchdowns on 81 carries.
Zeke averages 4.1 yards per carry, has rushed for 443 yards and scored four touchdowns on 109 carries.
This is a tandem situation and that’s the end to an argument that, for the Cowboys, is a but a discussion.
“He’s explosive and he can do everything. I’m proud of Tony,” Zeke said Sunday afternoon in the Cowboys locker room. “We gotta keep this thing going.”
The last time the Cowboys had a situation like this — two players who could make legitimate cases to be the featured back — was in the Julius Jones/Marion Barber days under Bill Parcells and Wade Phillips, in 2006 and 2007.
That situation was a bit tense; Julius felt like he should have been a 25-carries-a-game player, and he quietly seethed when the staff under Phillips gently gave more opportunities to Barber.
The Pollard/Zeke situation bears zero resemblance to Jones/Barber.
“It always feels good to see anyone ball out,” Zeke said after the game. “Tony, you’ve seen the work he’s put in since he got here. It’s always good to see someone put a lot into this game reap the rewards.”
These Halloween-candy flavored sentiments are sincere. These two like each other, and have been supportive of the other since Pollard arrived to the team as a fourth-round draft choice out of Memphis in 2019.
Since the moment Pollard came to the team the roles have been defined; Zeke starts, Pollard pops off the bench.
“It’s just like a brother, and vice versa,” Pollard said of his relationship with Zeke.
It helps that Zeke got his contract, and he makes $12.4 million this season. Without that type of security in the bank, it’s doubtful this relationship reads like a Disney movie script.
Zeke said he feels better, but would not say when he thought he might be available to return.
The Cowboys are in the bye week, and their next game is Nov. 13 in Green Bay.
The Cowboys have nine regular-season games remaining, and even if your preference is for Pollard to start, trusting any running back to remain completely healthy is a Vegas-style bet this team doesn’t need to make.
The Cowboys just celebrated the 20th anniversary of Emmitt Smith breaking Walter Payton’s NFL career rushing record, but that era is over.
Running backs just don’t make it that long any more. Teams use ‘em up, and move on to the next guy.
Pollard is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract, and it’s possible neither he nor Zeke will be with the Cowboys next season.
Even if Pollard’s numbers suggest he should be the full-time starter when Zeke is available, this point is a non-starter.
This is what the Cowboys are doing, so retire that fantasy no matter how much your fantasy team needs it.
