Fresh off his 234 scrimmage yards against the Dolphins last week, Rico Dowdle was already thinking about what he was going to do to his former team. He told reporters postgame that the Cowboys better “buckle up.”
Cowboys players and coach Brian Schottenheimer made it obvious they got a kick out of Dowdle’s warning. Owner Jerry Jones mocked Dowdle in his pregame radio interview on Sunday.
Dowdle wasn’t joking.
He had a team-record 239 scrimmage yards against the team that decided not to re-sign him after a 1,000-yard rushing season in 2024.
“They wasn’t buckled up,’’ Dowdle deadpanned, via David Newton of ESPN.
The Cowboys and Dolphins turned Dowdle into Marshall Faulk.
He became only the seventh player in NFL history to have at least 230 scrimmage yards in consecutive games, and his 473 scrimmage yards the past two games set a team record. Christian McCaffrey held the previous record at 416 scrimmage yards.
The Cowboys remade their running backs room in the offseason after scoring only six rushing touchdowns and ranking 27th in rushing yards. They signed Javonte Williams to replace Dowdle as the starting running back.
He admitted he took it “a little personal” after the Cowboys didn’t meet his financial demands.
The Panthers signed him to pair with Chuba Hubbard and now have a decision on how to use the two backs when Hubbard gets back from his calf injury. Hubbard has missed the past two games.
Dowdle won NFC offensive player of the week honors last week while starting for Hubbard. He’s a candidate to win it again this week.
“He told us to buckle up,’’ quarterback Dak Prescott said. “He got the last laugh.’’