NFL Network's Tom Pelissero hears that the Cowboys are looking to get RB Tony Pollard 18-20 touches vs. the Giants tonight. That's more than enough for him to return RB1 production. "We'll also see Rico Dowdle some on third downs, and they do have packages in the game plan for rookie Deuce Vaughn," Pelissero adds.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard found the end zone in Thursday's beatdown of the Commanders, his second straight week with a TD after an eight-game drought. that score from 7 yards out marked his fourth straight game with at least 1 carry from inside the 10-yard line. That's obviously key to his fantasy potential, but TDs will always be relatively unpredictable. Here are three other positive takeaways from the game: 1) Pollard drew 6 targets and led the team with 6 receptions. That marked his second straight game with at least 5 targets and third 5+ target game among the past four. Stabilizing his usage in that area -- which fluctuated across the first four post-bye contests -- would make Pollard a much comfier fantasy start the rest of the way. 2) He delivered a 27-yard run that was his longest since Week 3 and second-longest of the season. Pollard has been missing some of the burst that drove his game in previous seasons but looked good on that run. 3) Rico Dowdle scored but still isn't taking meaningful work away. The backup played 12 snaps (to Pollard's 41), got 3 carries (vs. 13), and ran 5 routes (vs. 22) in a game Dallas won 45-10. Pollard continues to dominate the work. The matchup certainly helped Pollard's Thanksgiving production. According to Pro Football Reference, he's averaging 2.7 yards before contact per carry for the season but got 6.1 per carry against Washington. Pollard's unlikely to get that much help from the rest of his opponents. But positive RB-scoring matchups remain against Seattle next week and at Buffalo in Week 15. A Week 17 home date with the Lions also looks more favorable after the way their defense played the past two weeks than the adjusted fantasy points allowed suggest.

Those looking for a bounceback from Cowboys RB Tony Pollard on Sunday are certainly made happy by the results of Week 11 vs. the Panthers. Pollard ended the game with 12 carries for 61 rushing yards and a TD, his first rushing score since Week 1. He also added 4 catches on 5 targets for 19 receiving yards in the contest. Notably, Pollard’s 18 PPR points notch his highest mark since Week 2 vs. the Jets (19.9) and snap his three-game streak of 10 or fewer points scored. Fellow RB Rico Dowdle didn’t get in the way much either, receiving 12 total touches on a 29.1% snap share in the contest, All of this is assuredly a welcomed change of pace compared to last week’s big letdown. Pollard will have an opportunity to capitalize on the success in Week 12 against a Commanders defense that was gashed by the lowly Giants’ offense for 91 rushing yards on Sunday, their second-highest total allowed over their past seven games.

Week 10 brought Cowboys RB Tony Pollard weakest fantasy score of the season. He recorded 15 carries for 55 rushing yards and went without a target for the first time since Week 5 of 2021. Backup RB Rico Dowdle (12 carries, 79 rushing yards), QB Dak Prescott, and WR CeeDee Lamb all scored rushing TDs in the game. Some of that was just bad luck, though. Pollard got two carries from the Giants' 4-yard line and one from the 2. All three of those runs gained yardage but found him stopped short of the goal line. Pollard also sat out the entire fourth quarter, which was when Dowdle scored his 1-yard TD. Pollard has now failed to hit 10+ PPR points in five of his last six games played. But there almost has to be some positive TD regression coming. He's tied for fifth in the league in carries inside the 5-yard line and has logged the second-most carries inside the 10. But 15 and 24 players have scored more TDs in those ranges, respectively. We mentioned Pollard as a "sell" in the past. If you're still holding him now, though, you basically need to ride it out. Sunday's final stats make it look like Dowdle challenged his role, but Pollard led his backup 15-6 in carries before leaving the game. He gets about as good a rebound spot as possible at Carolina this week, followed by positive matchups with Washington and Seattle.

The Cowboys racked up 406 total yards in Sunday's narrow loss to the Eagles. But RB Tony Pollard failed to benefit once again. He did take his 12 carries for a decent 51 yards (4.3 per rush) against the league's No. 1 run defense in DVOA. But he added just 3 receptions for 12 yards among 5 targets and failed to find the end zone for the seventh straight game. Pollard did actually cross the goal line from the Philadelphia 2-yard line in the fourth quarter, but an illegal-formation penalty negated that TD. He got one other carry inside the 10 but gained just 3 yards from the 7-yard line. Red-zone opportunities and overall carry share haven't been problems for Pollard. Efficiency has. Just 3 non-QB carries went to Dallas teammates on Sunday, and only 1 other target went to a RB (FB Hunter Luepke). Pollard's workload and the strength of the Dallas offense should keep him OK for fantasy, at least. And the next two weeks hold positive matchups with the Giants and Panthers.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard stayed quiet in Week 8, posting 53 rushing yards on 12 attempts. He added 1 catch for 2 yards. Dallas won in a blowout, but it’s concerning to see Pollard’s target count drop to one (2.9%). Prior to Sunday, Pollard caught 3+ balls in five straight. Dallas simply leaned on CeeDee Lamb in this one, leading to a massive 12-158-2 line. Pollard will look to rebound next week against a strong Eagles run D.