Tony Pollard is Cowboys offensive MVP in 2022 season

The great thing for the Dallas Cowboys offense this season is the emergence of running back Tony Pollard, and he’s showing there is life in the offense when he’s involved in the rushing and passing portion of the offensive unit.

Pollard has outplayed every player on the Cowboys’ offense this season. He should be the No. 1 option for the offense when it comes to the rushing game, and maybe even the passing game, as this season he not only showed his abilities when rushing with the football, but he can make plays when Dak Prescott throws the football his way as well.

This past Sunday, Pollard had 15 carries for 80 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, nearly doubling the output of Ezekiel Elliott, who finished with 15 carries for 42 yards. Though Elliott had two touchdown runs (both 1-yard rushes), he averaged just 2.8 yards per carry in the 40-3 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Pollard had his two touchdowns come via the passing game Sunday as he had a 30-yard reception in the second quarter and a 68-yard reception for a touchdown, as he made the most of those two catches that he made shorter receptions into big-time, game-changing plays for points.

The play by Pollard this season has been outstanding, to say the least, and it all really took off after a productive season last year. In his first two seasons (2019-20), Pollard totaled 455 yards rushing (two touchdowns) and 435 yards rushing (four touchdowns).

In ’21, that’s when he started becoming more known, with 130 carries for 719 yards in 15 games, while having two rushing scores with a 5.5 yards per carry average. Also last season, Pollard caught 39 of 46 targets for 337 yards receiving with an 8.6 yards per reception average.

Cowboys RB Tony Pollard on pace for 1,000 rushing yards in ’22

This season, Pollard is on pace to surpass his rushing and receiving totals from a year ago as the running back has 118 carries in 10 games for 701 yards rushing with six rushing scores, and a 5.9 yards per carry average. When catching passes, Pollard has 21 receptions (31 targets) for 243 yards with an 11.6 yards per reception average, with two touchdowns.

Pollard hasn’t had a fumble while rushing the ball in the past three seasons and just one lost fumble for his entire career.

Thus far in his four seasons with the Cowboys, Pollard has outplayed his fourth-round selection (128th overall) from the 2019 NFL Draft, and he’s shown he’s the best running back on the roster.

When the Cowboys need a big play, they’d be smart to look to Pollard when that moment arrives, because when he has the football there is a big chance he’ll gain positive yardage and even more, as he showed this past Sunday against Minnesota with the two big touchdown receptions.

Though for most of his career Pollard has been a backup to Elliott, he’s making decisions tough on Dallas when the offseason arrives as they determine Elliott’s status with the team for 2023, and Pollard as well as his contract comes to an end once the ’22 season comes to a close.

Pollard has played to the level of a solid contract for the foreseeable future as he’s an unrestricted free agent, but the Cowboys have a possible out with Elliott’s contract at the end of this season too, though it would be nearly $12 million of dead cap space for the team, too.

All we do know when it comes to Pollard and his status for the rest of ’22 is this … he’s proven what he’s capable of, and if he wasn’t on the team, the Cowboys wouldn’t be 7-3. He’s shown he’s the Most Valuable Player on the offense, and the offense can’t afford to not have him on the field for the rest of this season, and not on the roster in ’23.