Among the plays from Sunday that should give Cowboys fans the promise of better things to come, don’t forget about Rico Dowdle’s 64-yard kick return early in the fourth quarter.
Dowdle, an undrafted rookie running back out of South Carolina, has seen just three offensive snaps this season. The rest of his game action has come on special teams, where he’s been averaging about a dozen plays per contest.
But none so far has been bigger than his tightrope-act kick return to flip the field against Pittsburgh.
👀 There he goes, @ricodowdle returns it 64 yds 💨#PITvsDAL 📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/stkAJqRVnw
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) November 8, 2020
Dowdle’s return was the second-longest of the season for Dallas; Tony Pollard had a 67-yarder versus Washington in Week 7. The Cowboys haven’t returned a kick for a touchdown since Felix Jones did it in 2008.
Week 9’s barnburner against Pittsburgh may end up being remembered as Garrett Gilbert’s coming-out party, but the journeyman quarterback wasn’t the only unsung hero to grab a piece of the spotlight in the Cowboys’ most complete game of the season.
The 22-year-old rusher is peaking at the right time for head coach Mike McCarthy.
“He’s a good young player that’s earning his opportunity today,” McCarthy said of Dowdle in his postgame press conference. “You love that. To me, when you hit November, you want to see those younger players. They’ve got to be ready to play. They’ve got to be ready to contribute, because history will tell you your young players will be contributing in November and December. Just the fact that he was ready; you love it when you see a young guy get an opportunity and make a play like that.”
Dowdle’s opportunity may have come, in part, due to the hamstring issue that hampered starting running back Ezekiel Elliott for much of the week and even cast his status for Sunday’s game in doubt. Elliott’s uncertainty- and a need to keep him healthy with plenty of breaks- led to backup Pollard having a larger role in the offensive game plan, which, in turn, likely put third-stringer Dowdle on the field for kick returns.
I'm guessing Rico Dowdle got that kickoff return because the offense has been leaning on Tony Pollard? Worked out nicely.
— Rob Phillips (@robphillips3) November 8, 2020
Whether he was the direct beneficiary of Zeke’s leg tweak or just the right guy in the right place at the right time, the rookie’s first kick return of the season provided a huge boost at a critical moment, just as the Steelers reduced the Dallas lead on Sunday to single digits.
The Cowboys were unable to convert Dowdle’s big play into points, though. Six plays after his runback, Gilbert’s would-be touchdown heave toward the end zone was intercepted by Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick to kill the drive and further fuel the Steelers’ comeback effort.
Elliott knows it was a big missed opportunity that could have swung the outcome of the game.
“Those were definitely big momentum boosters. When you flip the field that way, the way they did on special teams, it definitely helps this offense out, and we’ve got to figure out how to capitalize on those plays,” Elliott told media members. “And Rico, I’m proud of him. He doesn’t get many opportunities, but he got an opportunity today, and he made the most of it.”
It may have been Dowdle’s first kick return, but it probably won’t be his last.
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