Cowboys Surprisingly Thin at RB Behind Ezekiel Elliott vs Bears With Tony Pollard Inactive

The Dallas Cowboys enter Thursday Night Football looking to go back above .500 at the expense of the Chicago Bears. But they will have to do with a lack of depth at the running back position.

Rookie Tony Pollard will be inactive for Thursday night, leaving fullback Jamize Olawale as the lone backup to Ezekiel Elliott against the Bears.

The Cowboys did not sign Mike Weber or Jordan Chunn off the practice squad this week. So with Tony Pollard down, Jamize Olawale is the only backup behind Ezekiel Elliott tonight.
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) December 5, 2019

Pollard showed up on the injury report this week due to an ankle ailment, forcing him to miss practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Interestingly enough, the Cowboys had the opportunity to sign one of Mike Weber or Jordan Chunn off their practice squad, but opted against it. Instead, Olawale will serve as the change-of-pace back for Dallas.

In all reality, this means the Cowboys will be feeding the ball to Elliott at a high rate.

The #Cowboys won’t have RB Tony Pollard tonight, as he battles an ankle injury. That means Zeke Elliott is the only RB active for Dallas, though they also have FB Jamize Olawale.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 6, 2019

This season, the lead Dallas back has rushed for 990 yards and seven touchdowns on 227 carries. Elliott faces a Chicago rush defense that has allowed the seventh-fewest ground yards-per-game this season (97.5).

The Dallas Cowboys are confident in Elliott's ability to weather the storm that is the tough Chicago Bears defense. But if he were to hypothetically go down with an injury, the 'Boys will be in deep trouble.