'Bad Taste!’ Tony Pollard Previews Dallas Cowboys Revenge Showdown at San Francisco

'Bad Taste!’ Tony Pollard Previews Dallas Cowboys Revenge Showdown at San Francisco

The Dallas Cowboys won in all three phases in Week 4, breaking down the New England Patriots from the opening kickoff. … leading to a Week 5 anticipation of ridding themselves of a “bad taste” … but first things first …

The Cowboys looked mortal last week against the Arizona Cardinals, losing 28-16 but thumped the Patriots 38-3 looking like the best team in the NFL — an honor Dallas is still vying to claim. Running back Tony Pollard praised the victory after the game, citing New England's discipline as a reason the Cowboys' win was that much more impressive.

"That was a big win for us, especially against a fundamentally-sound team like that," Pollard said. "The Patriots, they're going to bring it every year, no matter what the situation is. It was a big game for us, bouncing back, fighting through that adversity."

Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard (20) runs the ball during their game against the New England Patriots at AT&T Stadium Sunday. The Cowboys won 38-3 / USA TODAY Sports

The Cowboys scored two touchdowns on defense, two on offense and faked an extra point for a two-point conversion where punter Bryan Anger threw a pass to defensive end Chauncey Golston.

Following cornerback DaRon Bland's 54-yard pick-6 with 54 seconds to go before halftime, Bill Belichick put his face in his palm in disgust — a rare sight from the head coach of the NFL's winningest franchise since 2000.

Dallas' offense was "still not up to standard" in the red zone, quarterback Dak Prescott said. The Cowboys scored just one touchdown in four red-zone trips, as Prescott's first-quarter touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb was just outside the 20-yard line.

Pollard said the Cowboys "passed this test," but left a lot to be desired offensively.

"We definitely left a lot of meat on the bone, could've been better," Pollard said. "It could've been a lot better. Offense, we left a lot of points out there on offense. We kicked too many field goals. We keep saying it, but we got to keep executing and getting better in the red zone."

The Cowboys have an even greater test next weekend against the San Francisco 49ers for NFC supremacy. The two teams have established them as two of the best the conference has to offer again this year.

Dallas has been eliminated by the 49ers in each of the last two NFL playoffs, and Pollard said that plays a factor in the Cowboys' motivation ahead of the test but isn't hampering their preparation.

"We're always ready. It doesn't matter who we have coming up next week. Anybody they put up against us, we'll be ready," Pollard said. "We definitely have a bad taste in our mouth from the few times we played them, but it's a new year. Start from scratch and we're ready to go."