The Dallas Cowboys are officially eliminated from playoff contention, but you wouldn’t be able to tell after the way they handled business at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday night.
A surprisingly efficient offense led by QB Cooper Rush got out to an early lead, and an opportunistic Cowboys defense held on late to defeat the Buccaneers 26-24, and tighten up the NFC South race.
Dallas had an opportunity for the playoffs headed into Sunday, but that slim chance was busted early on when the Washington Commanders upset the Philadelphia Eagles in the final seconds. No matter, the Cowboys can now officially move on to evaluating the rest of the roster for the final two games of the regular season.
Along with several other players down due to injury, the Cowboys decided to shut down WR CeeDee Lamb for the rest of the regular season instead of risking further injury to his shoulder. Lamb will finish short of the record for the most receptions by a single player in their first five seasons.
Lamb may be out of the record books, but another player on offense can make a name for himself before the season comes to an end. RB Rico Dowdle is looking to secure the first 1,000 yard rushing season of his career, and he needs just 97 yards to get there.
Will Dowdle Get There?
If we take a sample from the previous four games, Dowdle should have no problem reaching the 1,000 yard mark before the clock hits all zeroes in AT&T Stadium in week 18. I wouldn’t rule out it happening this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, but setting our sights on week 18 is more realistic.
Dowdle currently averages just 64.5 yards per game, but that number is not indicative of his recent usage. He split carries exclusively with Ezekiel Elliott and sometimes Deuce Vaughn at the beginning of the season. It wasn’t until after QB Dak Prescott went down with injury that HC Mike McCarthy announced Dowdle would be the lead back and take the bulk of the carries.
The Buccaneers did a good job of bottling up the Cowboys run game. Dowdle managed just 23 yards rushing on 13 carries with DT Vita Vea clogging up running lanes. Before the Bucs game, Dowdle matched a feat not reached since Emmitt Smith back in the late 1990s.
Dowdle eclipsed the century mark in three consecutive games, averaging 131 yards per game to add his name to the Cowboys’ history books. Averaging just 48.5 yards rushing over the final two regular season games will make him the most recent player to accomplish that in a Cowboys uniform.
Who Stands In His Way?
Defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis might have something to say about Dowdle reaching the milestone against their defense. No team wants other players to break records against them, and it’s surely no different for the Philadelphia Eagles.
In such a hated rivalry, the Eagles defense is going to be swarming to the ball, and stopping Dowdle from reaching 97 yards this coming Sunday is just added motivation. Philadelphia ranks 9th versus the run, allowing just a shade over 102 yards per game.
The Eagles do most of their damage against the pass, as evidenced by their #1 NFL ranking. If Dowdle wants to reach 97 yards this Sunday, the Cowboys will need a good gameplan to keep Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis from wrecking the line of scrimmage, and they will have to do it with All-Pro RG Zack Martin sidelined with injury.
If Philadelphia is too stingy against the run, Dowdle should fare better in week 18 versus Washington. The Commanders rank 29th against the run, surrendering over 137 yards per game. Barring injury, we will see Dowdle celebrate the 1,000 yard milestone sometime in the next two weeks.