For Rico Dowdle, Sunday against the Cowboys wasn’t just a game. It was a vindication. The Dallas Cowboys made Rico Dowdle’s NFL career possible, and in Charlotte, their defense helped turn him into a star.
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In the Carolina Panthers’ dramatic 30–27 victory over the Cowboys on October 12, 2025, Dowdle delivered a career-defining performance against his former team. The ex-Cowboy ran for 183 yards on 30 carries and added 56 receiving yards and a touchdown on four receptions, finishing with 239 scrimmage yards.
He became the first player in Panthers history to top 200 scrimmage yards in consecutive games, and the first undrafted player since 1970 to do so league-wide.
“It went great,” Dowdle said postgame. “Obviously, you see the end result. I don’t think they came ready enough. They came ready, but not ready enough. Definitely a great team win for us.”
It was a statement game for Dowdle, who spent four seasons with the Cowboys before signing a one-year, $6.25 million deal with Carolina in the offseason. Once backup Chuba Hubbard went down with an injury, Dowdle seized the starting role and has made the most of it.
Facing his former teammates for the first time, Dowdle admitted it was special, but not sentimental.
“I’m not a very emotional person,” he said. “But it was definitely great getting to see those guys. I was there five years, so there were a lot of familiar faces. It was great to catch up with some old friends.”
While Dowdle stole the spotlight, rookie quarterback Bryce Young engineered one of the best drives of his young career. With the score tied at 27, the Panthers took over at their own 17-yard line with 6:07 remaining. Young led a 15-play, 63-yard march, converting a clutch fourth-and-4 from the Dallas 40 before Ryan Fitzgerald drilled a 33-yard field goal as time expired.
Fitzgerald also connected from 31 and 55 yards, helping the Panthers (3–3) notch their second straight win and reach .500 after a slow start.
Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception, finding Tetairoa McMillan twice in the end zone and Dowdle once on a 36-yard score.
For the Cowboys (2–3–1), Dak Prescott threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-34 passing but got little help from the ground game, just 31 total rushing yards. Dallas briefly led 24–20 late in the third quarter after Prescott’s 34-yard strike to George Pickens, but the Panthers responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by Young’s 2-yard toss to McMillan.
The Cowboys’ run defense, one of their early-season strengths, looked anything but ready. Dowdle ran through and around them all afternoon, making it clear Dallas might have misjudged his value when they chose to move on.
In the offseason, the Cowboys prioritized new faces, signing Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders and drafting Jaydon Blue, while letting Dowdle walk. Sanders is now out for the season with a knee injury, Williams has been solid but unspectacular, and Blue remains untrusted by coaches.
That miscalculation surely must’ve stung on Sunday.
