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Rico Dowdle becomes first player in five years to post back-to-back 200 rushing yard games in win over Cowboys

ProfilePhotoby: Nick Geddes10/12/25NickGeddesNews
Rico Dowdle
Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle was looking forward to the opportunity to play against his former team in the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The Cowboys allowed Dowdle to walk in free agency, and Dowdle wanted to show them that they made a mistake.

“Yeah, they have to buckle up, [I] stand on that,” Dowdle said earlier this week. “That was just meaning it’s going to be a very physical game from my end. I know from my end, I take a lot of pride in that: buckling the chinstraps up tight, and I will be coming.”

Dowdle finished with 239 yards from scrimmage and a score, leading the Panthers to a 30-27 victory over the Cowboys. Dowdle, who rushed for 183 yards and led Carolina with 56 receiving yards, became the first player with over 200 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back games since Dalvin Cook in 2020, per Field Yates of ESPN.

Cowboys defensive tackle Kenny Clark promised his team would be ready for Dowdle: “Man he got to back it up. I’m not much into talking. They ain’t play nobody like us,” Clark said. “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.” Carolina won the battle in the trenches rather easily.

Rico Dowdle shines in Panthers win over Cowboys

In terms of “revenge game” performances, this was as good as it gets. Dowdle managed to top his output from the week prior, in which he posted 234 yards from scrimmage in the 27-24 Week 5 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Dowdle, 27, signed a one-year deal worth up to $6.25 million with the Panthers this past offseason. He was brought in to serve as the backup to Chuba Hubbard, coming off a 2024 season in which he topped 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career.

With Hubbard sidelined the last two games with a calf strain, Dowdle has become the bell cow of the backfield. He’s made the most of it — and then some — certainly earning, at least, a 50/50 share of the backfield when Hubbard gets healthy.