Earlier this week we learned that Running back Ezekiel Elliott is questionable for this Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears. Cue Running back Tony Pollard to have an amazing game this week. Here is why we may see him stack up large amounts of yards against the Bears.
To start, the Bears have a terrible rushing defense. As a matter of fact, they have let up 1,048 yards from opponents' rushes this year. That's an average of almost 150 yards a game. The Bears' defense just isn't very good at stopping running backs from having good games.
Lots of people may defend the Bears by saying “Their defense is one of the best in the NFL.” They may say this due to them not giving up many points per game. However, after further investigation, the Bears just haven't played any offensive opponents this year.
I project a very low-scoring game, yet that's not the point. The Bears may hold opponents to low scores, yet they don't hold their opponents to low stats. That brings Tony Pollard to the stage. The Bears defense won't know what hit them because they haven't played against a running back this fast.
Another point is that Tony won't have any competition in this game. If Elliott really is going to not play this Sunday, then who will Pollard have to replace? Or more importantly, who would replace Tony as the #2 running back?
Oh… No one will. There is no other running back on the depth chart. So it's 100% all Pollard. Throughout the season we can start to notice that both running backs usually get an equal share of yards per game. While Elliott has 443 yards this season, Pollard has 375 yards.
That's not too bad for a backup running back. To almost have the same amount of yards as the starter, you know the guy is good. While Elliott has played 269 snaps, Pollard has played 205.
Not bashing Elliott at all, I am just saying that if you were to leave one of these running backs all alone for the day, they would probably have around 120-130 yards for the game. This will go for Pollard come Sunday.
One more subject I've noticed to defend this subject is that the Bears' linebackers, are just not fast. Meanwhile, Pollard is so quick that by the time the Bears' defenders know that the play has started, Pollard will already be running next to them. It's even possible that we could see a 60+ yard run from Pollard tomorrow.
For those guys who play fantasy football, may want to check on Tony Pollard for this week, because if Elliott doesn't play, then the chances of a “Boom” day for Tony go up significantly.
I am very eager to see if Tony can blow past these defenders and help the Cowboys come away with a victory before a bye week. I still hope Elliott is alright after hearing about his knee/thigh pain, but perhaps it's better if he were to rest this weekend going into the bye. I guess we will see shortly.
