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Rico Dowdle Snapped Pathetic Cowboys Streak on Thanksgiving

Rico Dowdle's Thanksgiving milestone highlights how much Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones have mismanaged the running back position all season.

By Jason Schandl

Nov 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle (23) runs after a catch against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle (23) runs after a catch against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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It's not clear why Dallas Cowboys fans figured out that Rico Dowdle should be the lead back so much earlier than Mike McCarthy and the rest of the coaching staff did, but the Cowboys are finally leaning into their best running back.

The move toward featuring Dowdle more was capped off during Thursday's game against the New York Giants when Dowdle found the end zone for a third-quarter touchdown that extended the lead to 27-10 and put the game out of reach. But the touchdown was more significant than it might have first seemed.

This was not only the first rushing touchdown of the season for Dowdle, but it was the first rushing touchdown at a home game for any Cowboys running back this season. Seriously.

The lone previous rushing TD the Cowboys had scored at AT&T Stadium this year came back in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens and was from Dak Prescott. The team's other two rushing scores, both from Ezekiel Elliott, came on the road.

That the team's best running back only had his first touchdown of the whole year in Week 13 really highlights just how poorly managed this offense has been all season. Dowdle entered this game averaging 4.4 yards per carry, compared to just 3.2 for Elliott (who ranked second among Cowboys running backs).

Dowdle eclipsed 100 yards in a game for the first time in his career on Thursday, easily looking like the best player in the Dallas offense.

I'm not going to go as far as saying the Cowboys would be more legitimate postseason contenders at this point if they had committed to Dowdle earlier in the year (there are too many problems to narrow it down to just that one), but the running back situation does perfectly capture just how much Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy have botched this season.

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