Cowboys RB Tony Pollard calls 3-TD career rushing day ‘a pretty good performance’

Pollard tied career highs in carries and rushing yards and did something not even Ezekiel Elliott has done, but there’s no RB controversy. | From @ToddBrock24f7

All week long leading up to kickoff, Pollard fielded questions from the media about whether he could carry the bulk of the Cowboys’ rushing load for a full game in place of an injured Ezekiel Elliott.

Pollard gave the first part of his answer on Wednesday, telling reporters, “They call it, I’m going to haul it.”

He punctuated that reply on Sunday, and it was an exclamation point.

Pollard’s 14 rushing attempts tied his career high, as did the 131 rushing yards he accumulated over the course of the Cowboys’ 49-29 dismantling of the Bears. At the conclusion of the Sunday slate of games, his 9.4 yards-per-carry average led all NFL rushers for Week 8.

Afterward, Pollard was his usual understated self in summing up his day.

“I would say I had a pretty good performance.”

While the outside world seemed to treat Pollard’s three-touchdown afternoon- something not even Ezekiel Elliott has done- as some sort of unexpected coming-out party, his teammates and bosses weren’t shocked in the least.

“Tony is extremely confident,” said head coach Mike McCarthy. “That’s been my experience since I arrived here. He doesn’t blink. He works the same every day, practices hard. He’s an extremely consistent player and person.”

“It didn’t surprise me a bit,” added receiver CeeDee Lamb. “He knew he had a bigger role in this game, understanding that he’s going to have a lot more carries than normal.”

“I’ve never seen him tired,” owner Jerry Jones offered after the win.

“He did a great job. Nothing that we didn’t expect,” said guard Zack Martin. “He’s been great for us all year, so when his number is called, we know it’s big-play potential at any time.”

Pollard actually saved his biggest play for last, breaking off a 54-yard touchdown run on his 14th and final carry of the game.

The first Cowboys player to congratulate him on the sideline? Elliott, the man whose starting slot Pollard took for the week.

Pollard now ranks 14th in the NFL in rushing yards, seven spots and 63 yards ahead of Elliott (on 28 fewer carries). So with the 6-2 Cowboys now on a bye week, expect plenty of chatter about a running back controversy in Dallas to fill the down time.

Just don’t expect it to come from within the building.

“We look at Tony as a 1 and Zeke as a 1. We’re very fortunate to have this duo of backs,” McCarthy explained. “I thought Tony Pollard played the way he always does, he just had more opportunities today.”

But not as many as he could have had. McCarthy confirmed that the plan was to get Pollard “around 20 carries,” and that he could have easily handled even more.

“He said it earlier in the week: we call it, and he’s going to haul it,” quarterback Dak Prescott shared in his postgame remarks. “He went out there, backed those words up, and that’s who he is, honestly. Him saying that statement is not about, ‘Hey, give me 30 carries so I can show you.’ It’s, ‘Hey whatever coach calls for me to do, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability for this team.’ Whether that’s sparing Zeke in the run game or going out there and taking the starting role and going for 130 and three touchdowns, or lining up in the slot, or coming out of the backfield for passes. He’s talented as hell and he’s not just another back for us. He’s a playmaker and a weapon that we will continue to use. He’s just great for the offense and this team.”

And the team insists he’ll continue to be great alongside Elliott in the Cowboys offense, not instead of the two-time rushing champ.

Both runners are now averaging exactly 63.3 rushing yards per game, the textbook definition of a balanced two-pronged attack.

“We go as Zeke goes. And I really mean that; Zeke’s that important to this team and every bit as important as he was before the game,” Jones confirmed. “We’ll have a healthier Zeke for not using him this ballgame.”

But now the Cowboys also have a healthier overall run game, too, having just proven to the rest of the league that Pollard can belly up to the bar and eat just as voraciously as Elliott.

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