FRISCO, Texas — The ground attack has been the Cowboys’ identity on offense for many years with a heavy load/worth placed on the role of the running back. In Kellen Moore’s versatile offense, the team now has dual weapons in the running game. Just as their numbers suggest, No.21 and No.20 are working together and dividing the workload.
On Sunday against Miami, Ezekiel Elliott (125) and Tony Pollard (103) both surpassed 100 rushing yards, the fourth-time in team history a pair of backs rushed for over 100 yards. The last time the feat was accomplished was in 1998 with Emmitt Smith and Chris Warren.
The Cowboys drafted Pollard in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to take some of the pressure off of Zeke. He is one of only four players in college football to average at least 6.0 yards rushing and 12.0 yards receiving in a career. He brings unique vision, speed, and balance through tackles to the gridiron alongside Elliott.
It is no secret that on many occasions Zeke has carried the team on his back, moving the chains and finding holes at the line of scrimmage to break for long runs. There is a reason he is the highest paid running back in the NFL He has accumulated two rushing titles and two Pro Bowl appearances over his three-year career span to this point. He has consistent instant reaction time and a signature jump cut to evade penetration. Elliott has been a core component in the team’s offense and now he has a young rookie prodigy.
I spoke with Jason Garrett on Pollard’s performance on Sunday and he remarked,“ Tony did really well in the game. He is getting better with every opportunity he gets; Playing more decisively, tougher, finishing runs really well. There were a number of runs yesterday that were after first contact where he broke through the tackle and finished downhill on the run. To get him out there and Zeke obviously did a number of good things for us in the game. Really, to have both guys out there running the ball effectively was big for us. Obviously any time you talk about those guys, you have to talk about the o-line. I thought they did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage in the running game and pass protection.”
Both Pollard and Elliott are capable of carrying the load on game day. Gone are the days of Elliott’s 30-35 touches in a ballgame. Now the dynamic duo will work together in Moore’s offensive scheme behind one of the best offensive lines in the league. The Cowboys now have two weapons in the running back room that defenses will have to game plan around. Dallas will now have to divvy snaps between the two- what a problem to have!
