• RB Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys — over 69.5 rushing yards: Dak Prescott has struggled through five weeks and has gone under his passing total regularly, so there is an added opportunity for Pollard to help move this offense downfield in a game that should be competitive throughout.
• The perfect opportunity: The Chargers are giving up the fourth-highest success rate to opposing rushing attacks and have had a defender grade negatively on 75.8% of plays, the highest number in the league.
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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
GAME OVERVIEW
Dallas arrives in Los Angeles having been blown out by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5. Dak Prescott and company mustered only marginally more than 200 yards of total offense a week ago, and now they face a Chargers team that has won back-to-back games and is coming off a Week 5 bye.
The Cowboys offensive line is finally healthy, but the team is missing some key pieces on defense, as cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee) and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (neck) are on injured reserve. Backup safety Juanyeh Thomas is doubtful with a hamstring injury, and the Cowboys will miss him on the back end, as he's played roughly 50% of the snaps and posted an excellent 83.7 PFF coverage grade.
Joey Bosa put in just one limited practice all week and is officially questionable for this game, though it does not seem like he will be available against a Cowboys offensive line that is back to full strength.
There are also issues in the secondary, as backup outside corner Deane Leonard is doubtful, leaving L.A. very thin at the position now that J.C. Jackson is back in New England.
Starting free safety Alohi Gilman is nursing a heel injury and is officially listed as doubtful after missing his team's Week 4 game. There is good news, however, as star running back Austin Ekeler returns having missed a few weeks with an ankle injury.
RB Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys: Over 69.5 Rushing Yards (-114 on FanDuel) & 100+ Rushing Yards (+360 on Caesars)
Tony Pollard’s snap counts have been slightly lower than expected this season, but that is solely because the Cowboys have won three games by 20 or more points, and Rico Dowdle was given an opportunity to show what he could do later in those games.
Cowboys games have been decided by 40, 20, 35 and 32 points, with the only competitive game coming against the Cardinals in Week 3. That game — a 28-16 loss — ended with a 12-point difference, and Tony Pollard played 86% of snaps and took 23 carries in the game.
The Cowboys finally have a fully healthy offensive line — and a fully healthy Cowboys offensive line is a top-five unit in the league.
Meanwhile, the Chargers are giving up the fourth-highest success rate to opposing rushing attacks and have had a defender grade negatively on 75.8% of plays, the highest number in the league.
Dak Prescott has struggled through five weeks and has gone under his passing total regularly, so there is an added opportunity for Pollard to help move this offense downfield in a game that should be competitive throughout.
The spread is currently Chargers +1.5, suggesting a tight match and, therefore, more snaps for Tony Pollard.
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