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INSIDER

TONY POLLARD

Analysis: Wentz, Elliott provide little bang for buck

Wentz was paid more than $39 million in cash this season and had a cap hit of $18.6 million. The Eagles now have to decide what to do with Wentz, who has a cap hit of more than $34 million next season. RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT: The Cowboys gave Elliott a $90 million, six-year extension before reaching a deal with quarterback Dak Prescott. Elliott is coming off the least productive season of his career with 979 yards and six TDs while getting paid nearly $11 million for a team that finished 6-10. But Green had just 47 catches for 523 yards in 16 games, providing little value for his big salary.

Pollard scores 2 with Elliott out, Cowboys beat 49ers 41-33

Pollard ran for two touchdowns with Elliott sidelined by a calf issue he's been battling for weeks, and the Cowboys kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 41-33 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Beathard handled the last two possessions and threw a 49-yard Hail Mary touchdown to Kendrick Bourne on the final play. The obvious reaction was that the rookie receiver should have gone to the ground to let Dallas run out the clock. ... WR Michael Gallup, who had a first-half touchdown catch, injured a hip in the second half and didn't return. UP NEXT49ers: At Arizona in an actual road game Saturday in the stadium that has become San Francisco's temporary home.

Dalton returns to Cincy, leads Cowboys over Bengals 30-7

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton (14) celebrates a touchdown throw with wide receiver Amari Cooper (19) in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)CINCINNATI – Andy Dalton was good enough in his return to Cincinnati, tossing two touchdown passes and helping lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 30-7 win over the Bengals on Sunday. The Bengals fumbled the ball away on their first three drives, one fumble returned for a touchdown, and leading to 17 first-half points by the Cowboys (4-9). Dalton was serviceable, going 16 for 23 for 185 yards, as the Cowboys stayed in contention in the weak NFC East. Dalton signed with the Cowboys as a backup, and stepped in when Dak Prescott went down.

Jackson, Ravens run past Cowboys 34-17 to end 3-game slide

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)BALTIMORE – Back in action after a 15-day layoff, Lamar Jackson directed a relentless rushing attack that the Baltimore Ravens hope will be the first big step in a run to the playoffs. The Ravens averaged 7.9 yards per carry and prevailed despite getting only 107 yards passing from Jackson. That led to a Dallas field goal, but Jackson answered with a 37-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-2 play. Tony Pollard took the subsequent kickoff 66 yards to set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Michael Gallup. An interception by Queen set up a 38-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Miles Boykin for a 14-10 lead.

Cowboys hang on to hope, but reality of 2-6 casts dark cloud

The Dallas Cowboys want to believe they still have a shot at the playoffs at 2-6 in the woeful NFC East. Assuming a betting line is established once Dalton returns to practice, the Cowboys figure to be big underdogs at home against the Steelers on Sunday. The Cowboys tried a number of gadget plays, and a lot of screens to get the ball out DiNucci's hands quickly. In addition to Dalton, Dallas could get cornerback Chidobe Awuzie back from a groin injury. Among those teams, Minnesota and Cincinnati are improving and the Cowboys were noncompetitive in the first meeting with Washington.

Cowboys try many tricks with rookie QB, fall to Eagles 23-9

The Dallas Cowboys tried to fake their way through rookie quarterback Ben DiNucci’s first — and they’re thinking only — start. The Cowboys (2-6) started a third quarterback in the same year for the first time since 2015. This was a much more unconventional look than when Dallas was trying to save a season wrecked by Tony Romo's collarbone injury. A reverse to rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb picked up 19 yards on the game's first possession, which ended with the first of Greg Zuerlein's three field goals and a 3-0 lead. 1 offense at the time, the Cowboys have one touchdown — in garbage time of a 38-10 loss to Arizona.

Mistake-prone secondary tops list of issues for 1-2 Cowboys

The injury-challenged unit is the biggest of several questions for the 1-2 Cowboys, who play the first of three straight home games Sunday against Cleveland after a 38-31 loss to the Seahawks. Brandon Carr, a 34-year-old who spent five of his first 12 seasons with the Cowboys, is back as a potential Band-Aid, although he hasn't played much yet. Before Metcalf's TD, the Cowboys gave up an 11-yard completion to Greg Olsen on fourth-and-3 when a stop might have sealed a second straight come-from-behind victory. That’s literally it.”WHAT’S WORKINGA pass rush that was pedestrian the first two weeks had its best game against Wilson. ... Dak Prescott had a second straight 400-yard passing day for the first time in his five seasons, this time with a career-high 472 yards.

Prescott, Cowboys get out of funk, ease past Dolphins to stay unbeaten

ARLINGTON, Texas - ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Amari Cooper before running for another score, and the Dallas Cowboys pulled out of a first-half funk as huge favorites in a 31-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The rebuilding Dolphins are 0-3 for the first time since losing their first seven in 2011. And while the Cowboys reached 3-0 for the first time since 2008, it took them awhile to find that offensive form. Prescott was 19 of 32 for 246 yards with an interception, and Cooper had six catches for 88 yards. He was a healthy scratch the first two weeks with the Cowboys, who waived him to make room for Quinn.

Prescott, Cowboys get out of funk, ease past Dolphins to stay unbeaten

ARLINGTON, Texas - ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Amari Cooper before running for another score, and the Dallas Cowboys pulled out of a first-half funk as huge favorites in a 31-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The rebuilding Dolphins are 0-3 for the first time since losing their first seven in 2011. And while the Cowboys reached 3-0 for the first time since 2008, it took them awhile to find that offensive form. Prescott was 19 of 32 for 246 yards with an interception, and Cooper had six catches for 88 yards. He was a healthy scratch the first two weeks with the Cowboys, who waived him to make room for Quinn.

Dak Prescott spreading the wealth in hot start for Cowboys

FRISCO, Texas - Dallas Cowboys receivers and tight ends have seven touchdown catches through two games, the same number of TDs the entire offense had in the first five games last year. He has completed 82 percent of his passes for 674 yards with seven TDs and one interception in two games. Elliott reached 100 yards (111) thanks to a 27-yard run the play before Prescott took a knee to run out the clock. Getting takeaways has been a persistent problem, and the Cowboys have two through two games, a pair of fumbles against the Giants. STOCK DOWNLG Connor Williams was beaten badly on the only sack of Prescott and again when quick pressure forced Prescott out of the pocket before his first interception in seven career games against the Redskins.

Cowboys fall to 49ers in preseason opener, 17-9

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - For the second straight season, quarterback Dak Prescott started in the Cowboys' preseason opener, but despite nearly 300 yards of total offense, Dallas couldn't find the endzone and fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 17-9. Prescott played the first series, and performed admirably, completing all four of his passes for 23 yards -- including one to himself. With a chance to capitalize on an early pass interference call, Prescott and the Cowboys faced a third and four at the San Francisco six yard line. Again buoyed by a pass interference call, the Cowboys drove down to the four yard line, but Mike White's pass fell incomplete in the endzone on fourth down with seven seconds left. The Cowboys will return to preseason play next Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Cowboys Training Camp Capsule

DALLAS COWBOYS (11-7)OPEN CAMP: July 27, Oxnard, California. Dallas went 7-1 in second half to surge to NFC East title, won wild-card game against Seattle, lost to LA Rams in divisional round. Cowboys didn't do much in offseason to change outlook at safety, so perceived weak link in defense will be under scrutiny. Coach Jason Garrett enters final year of contract signed after 2014 season, when Dallas won just second playoff game since Super Bowl title following 1995 season. Garrett might need to lead Cowboys to first NFC championship game since then to survive, and even that might not be enough.

Human remains found at Waterloo battle site

WATERLOO, Belgium - Archaeologists digging at a site where the 1815 Battle of Waterloo was fought have turned up human remains and musket balls, they say, which may help paint a clearer picture of what went down in what was to be the French military leader's final stand. "Finding human remains immediately changes the atmosphere on a dig," said Tony Pollard, who is the Professor of Conflict History and Archeology and Director of the Centre for Battlefield Archeology at the University of Glasgow. "Suddenly there is a very poignant connection with the people who suffered here in 1815, a connection that has not been lost on the Waterloo Uncovered team of veterans and serving personnel," he said. About the digWaterloo Uncovered, a UK charity that has been charged with excavating the battlefield, said this is the first time that they have encountered human remains. The Waterloo Uncovered team is comprised of archaeologists, veterans and serving soldiers.