National Football League

How Rico Dowdle has transformed into an RB1 force for Cowboys

Published Dec. 17, 2024 4:34 p.m. ET

Editor’s note: This is the 15th installment of a season-long series on a breakout star from the past week of NFL action. The Week 15 winner: Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle.

After his latest dominant performance for the Cowboys, Rico Dowdle said that he’s probably never had more fun running the football. The closest comparison, he explained, was high school.

What’s been missing, though? Touchdowns.

He has just one in 13 games.

"But this is definitely a great time right now considering these past three weeks," Dowdle said.

He had 25 carries for a career-high 149 yards in Dallas’ 30-14 victory Sunday over the Carolina Panthers, marking his third straight game of at least 110 rushing yards. A 2020 UDFA out of South Carolina, Dowdle is the first undrafted player with three straight 100-plus rushing yard games since 2014 (Arian Foster).

Over the past three weeks, Dowdle is first among running backs in rushing yards (392), yards after contact (283), rushes of 10-plus yards (14) and missed tackles forced (16), and ranks second in rushes for a first down (18), according to Pro Football Focus.

With the Cowboys (6-8) playing cleaner football as of late and keeping games close, they’ve been able to lean on Dowdle, who has erupted late in the season. He’s averaging 21 carries and 119.5 rushing yards per game (5.6 yards per carry) over his past four games — up from 9.8 rushing attempts for just 45.3 rushing yards per game (4.6) in his first nine games. Dallas is 4-1 when Dowdle has at least 80 rushing yards, while it’s 2-7 when he’s under 80.

Dowdle’s breakout has come as the Cowboys have won three of their past four games, keeping their long-shot playoff hopes alive.

"He's doing a really good job, breaks tackles," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He has a violent run style. His courses and his decision-making [have] been excellent."

In a contract year, Dowdle is playing his way into a big-money deal as the value of running backs is seemingly on the rise. In his first season as a starter, he has 177 carries for 880 yards and a touchdown.

In his previous 36 games across three seasons (2020, 2022-23), including no starts, he had just 89 carries for 361 yards and two scores.

"The guys up front are what is working well for me," Dowdle said. "It all starts with them."

Why Dowdle was successful in Week 15

Against the Panthers, Dowdle was effective at the mundane.

Nothing in his film will blow you away. There were no crazy moves. His longest run was 12 yards (twice). But he made a lot of good decisions, showed quick feet and went north and south with power when given the opportunity.

Dowdle was most efficient running on the right side, where he had four of his five runs of 10-plus yards, according to Pro Football Focus. Two came in the B-gap (outside shoulder of right guard), while one apiece came in the A-gap (right shoulder of the center) and C-Gap (outside shoulder of the right tackle).

He most frequently ran through the right side B-Gap, registering six carries for 43 yards (7.2 yards per carry, including 6.0 yards after contact per carry), two first downs and two missed tackles forced, per PFF. One of his two carries for 12 yards also came in that direction.

"I think he’s really in a rhythm with the guys up front — reading blocks, cutting here, cutting there. Our communication and coordination up front has been tremendous the last few weeks," quarterback Cooper Rush said. "When you’re coordinated, you have a chance. It gives guys a chance. Rico can break tackles."

The 6-foot, 215-pound back is just 120 yards short of his first career 1,000-yard rushing season.

The Cowboys' next two opponents boast strong run defenses, which will pose a challenge to him reaching the mark. They host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11th in run defense) on Sunday and play at the Philadelphia Eagles (seventh) in Week 17 before facing the Washington Commanders (24th) in the season finale.

"I definitely want to hit that milestone with my first year being a starter," Dowdle said.

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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