During the fourth quarter of Thursday’s victory over the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle took a toss while moving to his left, turned upfield, and encountered a sight that has been largely absent from the team’s offense this season: a wide-open lane to run through.
Dowdle sprinted into the open field, picking up 19 yards. Although the play wasn’t a pivotal moment in Dallas’ 27-20 Thanksgiving Day win, it carried significant meaning for several reasons.
For one, that run pushed Dowdle over 100 rushing yards on the day, marking the end of a notable drought.
Before Dowdle’s performance, no Cowboys ball carrier had surpassed the 100-yard mark since Tony Pollard did so in Week 3 of the 2023 season.
Additionally, plays like that fourth-quarter rush helped demonstrate that the Cowboys’ offense can still put up points even when All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is not performing at his best.
Lamb, long considered the key playmaker for Dallas, dropped three passes and finished with a season-low two receptions on Thursday.
He also missed some time in the fourth quarter due to a shoulder injury. Despite Lamb’s struggles, the Cowboys’ offense continued to function effectively, thanks in part to Dowdle’s 112 yards on 22 carries and his first rushing touchdown of the season.
“Anytime you have a run game in the league, it makes everything else easy,” said wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
“So shoutout to Rico and the line for doing their thing tonight, because it definitely makes things easier for us. It opens up the passing game. You saw that tonight.”
Dowdle has been the Cowboys’ starting running back since Week 2, but for much of the season, he didn’t have the opportunity to handle a heavy workload.
Dallas initially tried to implement a backfield rotation and faced large deficits in several games, limiting their ability to establish the run.
On Thursday, however, Dowdle saw career highs in both rushing attempts and yards, helping Dallas (5-7) secure a win over New York (2-10).
Dowdle expressed confidence that, given the opportunity to settle into a rhythm with a steady flow of carries, he could sustain success.
“It feels great,” Dowdle said. “[I] gotta give all the credit to those guys up front. They were able to get movement, a little bit of space, we were able to make things go. It paid off well for us, but it definitely feels great.”
As the Cowboys continue their efforts to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, they will need the offense to maintain the momentum it found on Thursday.
Last season, the combination of quarterback Dak Prescott and Lamb propelled Dallas to the postseason, but Prescott underwent season-ending hamstring surgery earlier this month, and Lamb struggled to find his rhythm on Thanksgiving while playing through pain.
With backup Cooper Rush making his fourth consecutive start, Lamb was limited to just 39 yards and ended his NFL-record streak of 44 straight games with at least four receptions.
Lamb had noted earlier in the week that he was feeling physically battered, and he was slow to rise after a play in the third quarter against the Giants.
He spent much of the second half on the sidelines, and coach Mike McCarthy later confirmed that the team held Lamb out due to a shoulder injury.
Despite Lamb’s absence, Dowdle, Rush, and the rest of the offense stepped up. It also helped that Cooks returned for the first time since late September, catching a touchdown pass in the third quarter and sealing the win with a crucial third-down conversion in the final minutes, marking a successful return from a knee infection.
In total, five Cowboys receivers, aside from Lamb, caught multiple passes. Tight end Luke Schoonmaker, filling in for the concussed starter Jake Ferguson, led the group with five catches.
“It just shows you how many playmakers we have on this team,” wide receiver KaVontae Turpin said. “Especially with B. Cooks, he sealed the deal with the third-down catch. We knew he was coming down with that before he even caught the ball.
Everywhere we have playmakers at running back, tight ends, even with Jake Ferguson out, Schoonmaker was making plays. It’s everybody. We have playmakers everywhere.”
Turpin himself led the team with 53 receiving yards on four catches as he continued to expand his role beyond his duties as a kick and punt returner.
“I’m a freaking playmaker,” Turpin declared. “I feel like when I get the ball, people should expect to see special stuff. So when I do get the ball in my hands, I want to make something happen, get people out of their seats.
That’s who I am. I want to show I deserve those chances [on offense], and I’m going to take advantage of it. Every chance I get.”
Though the Cowboys’ offense wasn’t perfect, it did enough to secure the win. They failed to score on two early trips to the red zone and needed linebacker DeMarvion Overshown’s interception return for a touchdown to take the lead in the second quarter.
Eventually, Rush made a number of impressive throws, including a 36-yard deep ball to Jalen Tolbert.
Meanwhile, Dowdle and the offensive line had more opportunities to show their strength than they’ve had all season, leading to the Cowboys’ best rushing performance of the year—and their second consecutive win.
“That’s been a point of emphasis for the past couple of weeks, to get the running game going,” Dowdle said. “I think we did that.”
