Cowboys’ Rico Dowdle at a Crossroads: Star Running Back Faces Major Decision on Future
The Dallas Cowboys‘ prospects of springing an upset were slim entering Sunday’s matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Even with Jalen Hurts sidelined with a concussion, Dallas had nothing to answer in a 41-7 beatdown.
Scraping for positives, there was not much to like about this result. The Cowboys were shorthanded with the vast majority of their Pro Bowlers and stars out with injury.
However, one player had an impressive effort given the circumstances. Running back Rico Dowdle finished with 104 yards on 23 carries against a top 10 rushing defense in the NFL.
That is is fourth 100-yard game of the season, a mark that he has reached in the Cowboys’ five most recent games.
In speaking of the backfields in this game, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley took the headlines from this game and deservedly so. He crossed over 2,000 yards for the season and moved closer to breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record.
But Dowdle made his own history in this game, becoming the first undrafted player to run for 1,000 yards in a season for the Cowboys. For a player who had split usage early on and did not reach 50 yards in a game until Week 5, that is an impressive feat.
Dowdle made himself undeniable for the Cowboys this season. After waiting his turn behind Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott, Dowdle finally got his chance midway through the season and has made it count.
Perhaps his impressive close to the season serves as an audition for an opportunity elsewhere. Nonetheless, Dowdle – who makes just $1 million this year and is surely due a windfall in free agency, here or elsewhere – has made a strong impression in the Cowboys’ backfield and given the team something to think about when they head into the offseason.
