FRISCO, Texas – Injuries and limited opportunities have held Rico Dowdle back over the course of his five seasons with the Cowboys. However, on Sunday night in Pittsburgh, he proved he can be a leader in the Dallas run game.

Dowdle set career highs in carries (20) and rushing yards (87) in the win over the Steelers, the most by a Cowboys running back in both categories this season. With one of the NFL’s best run defenses just around the corner, the Detroit Lions, Dowdle wants to continue to improve his performance.

“I’m very confident,” Dowdle said. “It was always about taking advantage of the opportunities, making the most of them and finding the rhythm.”

Things started to click for Dowdle in the third quarter on the Cowboys’ 16-play, 90-yard touchdown drive on Sunday night. He had 9 touchdowns for 58 yards on the drive, including a 22-yard receiver touchdown to cap the game and give Dallas a 13-10 lead. The Cowboys always got the look they wanted from the Steelers’ defense, and Dowdle made them pay for it.

“They didn’t adapt to what we were running and we literally killed them,” Dowdle said.

Although Tyler Guyton was sidelined in the second quarter with a knee injury, Tyler Smith and TJ Bass filled in perfectly on the left side of the offensive line to create space for Dowdle in the running game. It’s just another example of an early-season phrase that every player, coach and fan knows and loves: “Next man up.”

“It’s always been like that here: guys go down, guys have to step up, that’s the way we train and prepare,” Dowdle said. “When it comes time to play and take advantage of the opportunity, you definitely have to take full advantage of it.”

Dowdle made the most of his increased opportunities in Pittsburgh and now faces a rested Lions defense that ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards allowed this season (363). However, keep in mind that Pittsburgh wasn’t far behind, giving up just 456 yards on the ground so far this season. Now is the opportunity to really build a strong ground game after a slow start to the 2024 season.

“We’re just trying to continue to build on it and play against another great run defense,” Dowdle said. “It’s going to be a challenge and we’ve got to rise to the challenge like we did last season… we’ve just got to keep piling on.”

Missing 30 games in three seasons, including the entire 2021 season because of a hip injury, hasn’t given Dowdle much time to put his performances together. And yet, after his biggest workload to date on the ground, he is exactly where he wants to be physically.

“I’m actually feeling pretty good. “I thought I would be in more pain, but I definitely feel great,” Dowdle said.

Offseason moves like the retirement of Ezekiel Elliott and the addition of a veteran like Dalvin Cook to the practice squad gave the Cowboys options on the ground, but over the course of the last two weeks, Dowdle has found his way.

“I think it showed what we can do when we find a rhythm,” Dowdle said of the Cowboys’ overwhelming success against Pittsburgh.

The receiving game was also successful for Dowdle, who caught a touchdown pass in two consecutive weeks. It’s the first time a Cowboys back has done so since Robert Thomas in 2000, and a touchdown catch Sunday would be the first time in franchise history that a back has caught a touchdown in three consecutive games. Despite the lack of historic success in the running back receiving game, Dowdle’s growing confidence extends to that aspect of his game as well.

“I always think I was able to be a receiver out of the backfield. “It’s just about getting the opportunity to be a receiver out of the backfield and make those types of plays,” Dowdle said.

We’ll see how Dowdle performs on Sunday against one of the NFL’s most capable rushing offenses, the Lions, with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery both ranked among the league’s top 20 running backs in yards so far this season.