No Zeke? No problem. Tony Pollard comes up big with Elliott out in Dallas Cowboys’ win
Tony Pollard said he just wanted to take advantage of his opportunity.
He did that and then some.
Pollard started in place of the injured Ezekiel Elliott on Sunday and helped lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 41-33 win over the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium.
It’s the Cowboys (5-9) first consecutive wins since November 2019. The win keeps Dallas’ slim playoff hopes alive.
Pollard finished with 152 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 69 yards and two scores on 12 carries, including a 40-yard scoring run that iced the game late in the fourth quarter. He also caught six passes for 63 yards and returned a kick 20 yards.
Elliott’s top all-purpose game this season was 127 yards in the season opener.
“It was big for me. A dream come true,” Pollard said of getting the start, the second of his career. He also started in Week 2 against the Falcons. “Getting a chance to start the game. I just tried to take advantage of my opportunities and make the most of it.”
Elliott was ruled out before the game with a calf injury. Although Elliott’s calf issue was known during practice this week, Pollard said the news of the start was still a surprise.
“It was a last-minute, game-time decision,” said the second-year player out of Memphis. “We knew he was banged up a little bit. It was definitely a surprise.”
The Cowboys offense took advantage of two early fumbles by the 49ers to lead 14-0 in the first quarter, including a a 1-yard scoring run by Pollard to open the scoring. But Pollard was most effective in the first half as a receiver. He led the team with 51 yards receiving on five catches at the half. Pollard said that was just a matter of the 49ers’ defense dictating the Cowboys’ gameplan.
“A lot of it was not being greedy on offense and taking what they gave us,” he said.
With Dallas leading by three and just over two minutes remaining, Pollard took a hand off around the right side, broke a few tackles, spun around out of a crowd and dashed 40 yards for a win-seizing touchdown.
“I didn’t think I’d end up breaking as many tackles as I did,” Pollard said. “My guys did a good job of holding their blocks. My natural ability made up for the rest.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
