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'Zeke Who?' No Joke - Pollard Makes His Case in Cowboys' 14-10 Win at Hawaii

'Zeke Who?' No Joke - Pollard Makes His Case in Cowboys' 14-10 Win at Hawaii
Matt Galatzan|
'Zeke Who?' No Joke - Pollard Makes His Case in Cowboys' 14-10 Win at Hawaii
'Zeke Who?' No Joke - Pollard Makes His Case in Cowboys' 14-10 Win at Hawaii

‘Zeke who?’ joked Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones when our Mike Fisher and other media members in Honolulu asked him about Tony Pollard filling in for holdout Ezekiel Elliott, before quickly adding, ''Just kidding! And NOT at your (Zeke’s) expense.''

The Zeke Elliott saga has consumed much of the focus of the 2019 Dallas Cowboys preseason, and for good reason.  After all, Elliott is arguably one of the most talented offensive weapons in the entire NFL, and without him on the field, Dallas has largely struggled to move the ball or win games.

Part of that saga has been a debate as to whether or not the Cowboys need to pay Elliott like he's the most valuable runner in the NFL, or if he is actually the most replaceable of the three Stars Dallas is currently in negotiations with. 

Though we only stand at the midway point of the preseason, Tony Pollard has put his best foot forward in his limited opportunities, and after his performance in Hawaii on Saturday night, he is beginning to add some fuel to the fire of that debate. Or, at least, as Jones went on to say, make a case for both Elliott and Pollard having roles going forward.

After the Rams pinned the Cowboys inside their own five-yard line to begin their first possession, Pollard was an integral part of a 12-play 97-yard touchdown drive that gave his team the early lead, capping things off with an impressive 14-yard touchdown run. 

Pollard, along with the rest of the Dallas starting unit, would take a seat for the remainder of the contest after that, with the rookie ending the game with five carries for 42 yards and the aforementioned score. 

The opening drive score was also helped by a smooth 31-yard connection from Dak Prescott to Michael Gallup on a deep ball down the right sideline, and a grab from Jason Witten in the red zone. 

Like Pollard, Gallup has had an excellent camp this fall and has looked very capable in the absence of Amari Cooper, who remains sidelined with a heel injury. 

As for Prescott, he would finish his only drive of the game going 5-5 for 64 yards, as he remains perfect in terms of accuracy so far this preseason. 

After another inconsistent outing from Mike White, in which he completed just seven of his 13 attempts with an interception, Cooper Rush seems to be well on his way to cementing his candidacy for the back quarterback job, finishing 10-16 for 83 yards and a touchdown, with no turnovers. 

On the other side of the ball, the finally healthy Maliek Collins was the star of the show for the Dallas starters, asserting a dominant presence on the interior of the line while on the field. 

Oklahoma State UDFA Justin Phillips also had an impressive outing on the defensive side of the ball, bursting on to the scene with seven total tackles, including four solo stops, and an interception. 

With the win, the Cowboys have pulled back to .500 for the preseason, as they begin their trip home to the DFW area to take on the Houston Texans next Saturday. 

It will be the first time the majority of the players have been back home since departing for training camp on July 26th. 

Whether or not Ezekiel Elliott will join them in their 2019 home debut, however, remains to be seen.  

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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