Ex-Cowboys RB exacts revenge on former team with historic run

• Rico Dowdle ran for 183 yards in the Panthers’ win over the Cowboys, the running back’s former team.
• Dowdle’s 239 yards from scrimmage set a Panthers single-game franchise record.
• Javonte Williams, Dowdle’s replacement in Dallas, ran for just 29 yards on 13 carries.

Maybe the Dallas Cowboys should have heeded Rico Dowdle’s warning.

After a career day in a win over the Miami Dolphins last week, the Carolina Panthers running back immediately set his sights on the upcoming matchup with his former team, telling the Cowboys they needed to ‘buckle up’ in preparation. On Sunday, Dowdle backed up the talk, rumbling for 183 yards on a personal-high 30 carries to power a 30-27 win.

‘They wasn’t buckled up,’ Dowdle said in a postgame news conference.

With four catches for 56 yards, Dowdle became just the seventh player since 1970 – and the first since Dalvin Cook in 2020 – to have consecutive games with 225-plus yards from scrimmage. No other undrafted player has achieved the feat.

The sixth-year back, who signed a one-year deal with the Panthers this offseason after the Cowboys decided to move in a different direction with their ground game, also set the single-game franchise record for yards from scrimmage with 239.

Dowdle was a punishing presence throughout the day, never breaking a run longer than 15 yards. But his steady presence helped the Panthers rack up 14 first downs via the ground and tie the team’s highest scoring output this season.

‘Just looked like the same guy (as) last week,’ Panthers coach Dave Canales said. ‘Ran with violence, had a plan, man on a mission. (He) wants to make yards.’

Dowdle set the tone last week by issuing a warning of sorts.

“They gotta buckle up,’ Dowdle said after beating the Dolphins. ‘I think they know, for sure. I’ve been there for five years. They didn’t keep me there for five years for no reason.’

While Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer indulged the remarks by saying his defenders would ‘bring our seat belts,’ some players met the remarks with confusion.

‘Man, he got to back it up. I’m not much into talking.,’ Cowboys defensive tackle Kenny Clark said last week in response. ‘They ain’t play nobody like us. We ain’t play them, so he’ll watch the film and see what he’s playing against. … Yeah, he can be emotional. I know he was coming off a 200-yard game, so he’s probably feeling really good. Yeah, it’s going to be a battle in the trenches for sure. (The) trenches are going to win this game.’

Sure enough, they did. Javonte Williams, whom the Cowboys signed this offseason to take over as Dowdle’s replacement as the lead option in the backfield, ran for just 29 yards on 13 carries.

The win elevated Carolina to 3-3, marking the first time that the franchise has been at least .500 since Week 10 in 2021.

Rico Dowdle stats vs. Cowboys

• Carries: 30
• Rushing yards: 183
• Receptions: 4
• Receiving yards: 53
• Touchdown catches: 1