5 NFL players that need to step up for their teams in Week 13
The 2021 NFL season has reached Week 13 and playoff lives are on the line all over the league. That means there is no time for key players to have a rough game.
Doing so could mean a once-promising season comes to an early end.
Big names all around the NFL need to step up in Week 13. Here are five that stand out above the rest.
5 NFL players that need to step up in Week 13
#5 - Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys
All signs point toward Ezekiel Elliott being healthy and ready to go Thursday for the Dallas Cowboys. He is still dealing with some lingering injury concerns and only received nine carries in last week's Thanksgiving defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders.
That leaves fellow running back Tony Pollard in a position to step up in a huge way Thursday against the New Orleans Saints. Pollard has a total of 100 carries this year for 531 yards and had 10 carries for 36 yards in Week 12.
🚨 TONY POLLARD 100-YARD RETURN 🚨
Game-changing play! @Tp__5 #DallasCowboys
📺: #LVvsDAL on CBS
📱: NFL app https://t.co/UXfNir6JsV
He may now see an uptick in workload, with Elliott still dealing with his own issues. The Cowboys got into a shootout last week and Dak Prescott was forced to throw the ball 47 times.
But early in Week 13, the Cowboys could seek to establish a run.
That is where Pollard comes in. If he is capable of carrying the ball 15-20 times, there is no need to rush Elliott onto the field if he is not at 100 percent.
However, Pollard needs to maintain his average of over five yards per carry to truly step up and help his team.
#4 - Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Let's stick with Thursday night's NFL matchup between the Cowboys and Saints for our next player in Taysom Hill. The dual-threat quarterback is expected to start Thursday in place of Trevor Siemian.
This is a huge opportunity for Hill to seize the starting role on a full-time basis and earn up to $95 million over the course of his new contract that has different benchmarks for payment. If he is the starting quarterback, he earns the most money.
Sources: The #Saints appear poised to make a QB change. Taysom Hill is taking first-team reps this week in practice in preparation to face the #Cowboys. Trevor Siemian is taking No. 2 reps.
But this is more than just stepping up to help his own bank account. The Saints are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and just got blown out on Thanksgiving by the Buffalo Bills in primetime.
Siemian was not doing enough to help and the Saints are trying to hang on and get into the NFL playoffs via a Wild Card berth.
That means Hill could be the savior. Yet it is tough to know his potential as an NFL passer because he has a total of eight attempts in 2021.
He did start four games last season, but he was never set in as a potential full-time starter. He now has a chance to step up and prove he can be more than just a gadget NFL player for the Saints.