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The Dallas Cowboys’ run game has seen a major shift through the first few games of this season.
The Cowboys backup running back Tony Pollard has received more carries than he usually would.
In his first season with the team, back in 2019, Pollard averaged 7.3 carries a game, last season that went up to 6.3.
However, through the first three games this season, Pollard has had nine carries per game, a big jump from his first two seasons.
With Pollard’s nine carries per game, he has a yards per carry of 6.8 with a 109 yard performance against the Chargers.
For the Cowboys starting running back, Ezekiel Elliott, it has been a different story.
Through the first three seasons of his career, he averaged between 20 to 24 carries per game.
Elliott managed to get two rushing titles, two Pro Bowl appearances and one all-pro selection, along with another Pro Bowl in his fourth season.
After those first three seasons, his production started to decline.
Having over 1,000 rushes in his first four seasons looked to be taking a toll on Elliott’s body. In the 2020 season, his rushing total and yards per attempt hit a career low.
So far this season, the Cowboys starting running back has averaged 14.7 rushes per game and has a yards per attempt of 4.5.
Giving less carries to Elliott will help him stay as fresh as possible which the Cowboys will want due to him being in the third year of a $90 million dollar contract.
The Cowboys have made a bit of a dynamic duo with Elliott and Pollard at running back, even though Elliott is still the starter it is not always obvious who Dallas will send out with both players capable of having double digit carries each week.
