Photo by Josh Lavallee/Getty Images)

Rico Dowdle #5 of the Carolina Panthers celebrates after the 27-24 win against the Miami Dolphins in the game at Bank of America Stadium on October 05, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/Getty Images)

If there is such a thing as a one-and-a-half game winning streak in a sport outside soccer or hockey, the Cowboys would be on one, having tied the Packers and come back with a win over the Jets over their last two outings. Keeping the momentum going might be the topic of discussion here entering Week 6, except that Dallas next faces the Panthers–who happen to be the current employer of former Cowboys back Rico Dowdle.

Dowdle struggled with injuries in the first part of his career with the Cowboys, from 2020-23, but in 2024, once he got the chance to get control of the running-back job, Dowdle showed was he could do, rushing for 1,079 yards. Now he is doing the same in Carolina, where he started in place of Chuba Hubbard in Week 5 against Miami, and came through with 206 yards in a surprise win.

After that one, Dowdle was looking forward to facing his old team and said, “They got to buckle up. I think they know for sure. They didn’t keep me there for five years for no reason.”

Rico Dowdle ‘A Good Running Back’

On Wednesday, Cowboys defenders got their chance to shoot back at Dowdle, who was a popular locker room presence at The Star during his time in Dallas.

Said defensive end Sam Williams, “What do they say, a hard head make a soft (expletive)? Wait, that’s not the saying. I guess we’re just going to talk. We’re just going to see.

Williams added that he does not begrudge Dowdle his trash talk, and that his former teammate should consider his ex-team all buckled. “Rico good. He’s a good running back,” Williams said. “But what he did, 260 (206, actually)? We ain’t going. I’ll just say, we ain’t going. …

“We buckled up. Car seat. All that, we ready. Rico played here since I got here, my first year. Rico–that’s Rico. He back it up. I ain’t gonna lie. It’ll be a tough one.”

Cowboys ‘Definitely’ Heard Rico Dowdle Comments

No matter how many carried Dowdle gets, the challenge for the defense is to tighten up in all facets, and that includes a rush defense that ranks 23rd in the NFL. Linebacker Kenneth Murray was not Dowdle’s teammate, but he did hear about the buckling up.

“We definitely heard about it. I mean, we’ll see on Sunday. That’s all I got to say about it,” Murray said.

Asked more about Dowdle, though, he said, “Who knows? We’ll see on Sunday. He’s a back who had a good game last game, he had 200-something yards. I think for us it is going to be important for us to hone in on our keys, hone in on playing run defense as a unit. And just going out there and just flying around.

“So, obviously, everybody’s asking the question about the comments and the things that he said–obviously, he is a player that was here before. We’ll leave it up to Sunday and see what happens.”

Cowboys Improving the Defense

Defensive lineman Kenny Clark, another Cowboys newcomer who came to the team at the end of August in the Micah Parsons trade, made it a point that it’s on Dowdle to prove himself, not the Cowboys defense, which looked better against the Jets.

“Man, he got to back it up,” Clark said. “Prove it. I’m not much into talking. They ain’t play nobody like us. We ain’t play them. So he’ll watch the film and see what he’s playing against. …

“He’s probably feeling real good. But it is going to be won in the trenches. … He’s the one who’s got to prove it. But like I say, I am worried about our process and what we are doing. That’s all we are focused on.”

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney