Former Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle made good on his promise, torching his former team with a record-setting performance in a 30-27 victory on Sunday.
Dowdle spent five years in Dallas before the Cowboys decided to move on, despite him topping 1,000 rushing yards last season. With limited interest in free agency, he eventually landed in Carolina as the backup to Chuba Hubbard.
When Hubbard was sidelined last week with a calf injury, Dowdle got his shot — and made the most of it. He rushed for 206 yards.
Ahead of the matchup with his former team, Dowdle delivered a warning.
“It’s going to be a very physical game. I take pride in that,” Dowdle said. “Buckle your chinstraps up. I will be coming.”
Cowboys defensive tackle Kenny Clark fired back, “He gotta back it up. I’m not much into talking. He ain’t played nobody like us and we ain’t played them.”
Dowdle did just that. He ran for 183 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. Dowdle’s 239 scrimmage yards were the most in Panthers history. Making matters worse, the Cowboys managed just 31 yards rushing against the Panthers.
After the game, Dowdle took a shot at his former team.
“They wasn’t buckled up,” Dowdle said.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Responds to Rico Dowdle
The Cowboys fell to 2-3-1 with the loss. Dallas was a 3.5-point road favorite entering the matchup. Dak Prescott didn’t mince words after the upset loss. The Cowboys’ quarterback acknowledged that his former teammate made good on his warning.
“He told us to buckle up,” Prescott said. “He got the last laugh.”
What didn’t help was some pregame comments from owner Jerry Jones, who appeared to poke fun at Dowdle’s “buckle up” comments.
“I can’t even get our guys to come to the field they’re shaking so bad,” Jones joked.
Jones wasn’t laughing after the game. He declined his typical media availability after watching his defense give up 410 yards to the Panthers.
Dallas Has Significant Questions on Defense
The Cowboys entered the matchup with the league’s worst defense — and things only got uglier against the Panthers. Dallas is surrendering more than 400 yards per game.
“It’s very frustrating. It’s all these points (given up), the receivers are running wide open down the field, too many busted coverages,” Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs said. “It’s a lot. I feel like we’re all over the place and we really don’t have no identity.”
Part of Dallas’ defensive identity disappeared when the team traded All-Pro Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Jones defended the decision as a necessary step to fix a persistent weakness.
“The facts are specifically, we need to stop the run,” Jones said in August after the trade. “And we haven’t been able to stop the run in key times for several years. When you have the kind of extraordinary pass rush that [Micah] had, teams run right at you. If you’re not playing with a lead, that becomes a real problem.”
But the results haven’t matched the plan. Instead of tightening up against the run, the Cowboys have regressed, entering Week 7 with glaring defensive issues and a need for major adjustments across the board.
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