What does Tony Pollard’s injury mean for fantasy football in Week 15?
Game day update: Tony Pollard is expected to play on Sunday, per Adam Schefter.
The Tennessee Titans haven’t been the most exciting team to watch, but running back Tony Pollard has still managed to have a successful year. Pollard is on pace for a third consecutive 1,000-yard season and has looked more like the player before his injury with the Cowboys. Pollard and the Titans are looking ahead to the finish line of the 2024 season as they sit at 3-10 with a matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on deck.
According to Titans team reporter Jim Wyatt, running back Tony Pollard has officially been listed as questionable heading into Sunday’s games against the Bengals. Pollard has been dealing with an ankle injury this week. The Titans running back did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was listed as a limited participant on Friday. Pollard has been managing a foot injury for much of the second-half of the season, but has not missed a game. It doesn’t appear that he will miss the game on Sunday either. Pollard is expected to play, but remains a game-time decision. Said Titans head coach Brian Callahan,
“He’s sort of on that get-to-Sunday program and see how he feels. I feel pretty good about him, but he’s just dealing with all the things that running backs deal with after 15 weeks.”
There is certainly optimism with Pollard, heading into the weekend, but there remains the chance that he could sit out with the Titans season essentially over. Pollard will be a player to monitor on Sunday as the Titans take on the Bengals at 1 p.m. ET.
Despite managing injuries for much of the second half of the season, Pollard has remained a solid RB2 in fantasy football lineups. The Titans running back has scored 14 or more fantasy points in eight games this season and has been one of the more consistent players on a weekly basis.
The Bengals defense should provide a good matchup as well for Pollard and the Titans running game. While the Bengals have been average against the run, allowing 16.1 fantasy points per game to running backs, they rank 29th in run defense EPA per play and have allowed the 10th-most rushing yards per game. The Bengals have allowed the fourth-most yards after contact to running backs this season and the Titans have the sixth-most yards after contact per rushing attempt.
This has not been the Lou Anarumo Bengals defense that many have grown accustomed to seeing over the past few years and the potential is certainly there to find yards running the ball.
While Pollard has been dealing with an injury, it’s been clear this season that Callahan trusts him the most in the offense. Since Week 8, Pollard accounts for 65 percent of the Titans rushing attempts which is the eighth most in the NFL.
If Pollard is unable to go on Sunday, the Titans would turn to Tyjae Spears and Julius Chestnut. Even against a bottom-tier run defense, it’s hard to make the case to start either player in the case that Pollard is out. Spears has not had the season that many expected him to have in an increased role and Chestnut has not proven himself as someone who can provide reliable production.
