Cowboys Grounded: Tony Pollard 'Serious' Injury Revealed; Run Stuffed By 49ers

Once again, the Cowboys were unable to get things going on the ground in their Divisional Round loss. ... and Tony Pollard now faces a serious rehab.

If you want to win in the playoffs, you are going to need a rushing attack that is capable of grinding out games and keeping opposing defenses honest. 

The Dallas Cowboys learned that lesson the hard way on Sunday in their 19-12 Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, as their ground game was once again underwhelming and inefficient. 

As a team the Cowboys only managed to run for 76 yards on 22 carries, resulting in a paltry 3.5 yards per carry. Running back Ezekiel Elliott led the way with 26 yards on 10 carries, while Tony Pollard recorded 22 yards on six carries before exiting with an injury. ... an injury, it turns out, that is essentially a broken leg ...

Pollard exited the locker room on crutches and in a brace with what is being described as a "broken fibula that will require surgery,'' says ESPN ... and a "three-month rehab'' for the free-agent-to-be.

However, this wasn't too surprising as the Cowboys struggled to run the ball to end the regular season and in their Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Against the Buccaneers, they ran for 128 yards as team on 35 carries for a mere 3.7 yards per carry, which was a huge improvement from the 2.7 they averaged in their final two regular-season games.

Moving forward, the question for the Cowboys becomes how they can improve their ground game. Elliott is under contract next season, while Pollard is set to hit free agency. 

The talent is there for the Cowboys, and they've shown they can field elite units on both sides of the ball. However, if they can't get a better run game going, that talent might not be enough to get them to the Super Bowl in the future. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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