Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle edged Ezekiel Elliot for the backfield lead in Sunday's 44-19 loss to the Saints. Dowdle carried seven times to Elliott's six and beat Elliott 5-3 in targets. He tallied 30 yards rushing (4.3 per carry) and 29 receiving (7.3 per catch). Elliott went 6-16 rushing and 2-16 receiving. Second-year RB Deuce Vaughn also mixed in for 4-11 rushing and a 6-yard catch. He bumped from just two snaps in the opener to 10 against New Orleans.
RB Rico Dowdle carried more buzz out of camp and preseason, but RB Ezekiel Elliott led the Week 1 backfield in opportunities and production. Elliott carried 10 times for 40 yards and the team's lone rushing score from 3 yards out) in Sunday's win at Cleveland. He added 2 receptions for 9 yards on 2 targets. Dowdle went 8-26 on the ground and caught his lone target for 6 yards.
Cowboys RB Dalvin Cook will not play in today’s opener vs. the Browns. Not a big surprise after he joined the team less than two weeks ago. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said this morning that Cook has looked good in practice and might play in the next week or two. Pelissero also said to expect a “pretty even split” of carries between RBs Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott.
The Athletic's Jon Machota considers RB Rico Dowdle the favorite to lead the Cowboys in carries and rushing yards this season. Dowdle impressed with his explosion and pass-catching ability throughout camp, Machota writes.
RB Dalvin Cook has signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Cook played with the New York Jets for most of the 2023 season before being released and signing with the Baltimore Ravens for their playoff run.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle was mentioned as "battling it out" with RB Malik Davis by EVP Stephen Jones. He was highly complimentary of RB Royce Freeman.
The Cowboys and RB Ezekiel Elliott have agreed to a contract, NFL Network reports. It's a reunion after Elliott spent his first seven seasons in Dallas. The 28-year-old mustered just 3.8 yards per carry in his last season with the Cowboys and then averaged 3.5 yards per carry for the Patriots last year. Elliott ranked 29th among 42 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus' 2022 rushing grades and 41st among 49 last year. There's very little gas left in this tank, although Elliott still proved capable of handling big workloads down the stretch last season. He averaged 14.8 carries and 6.5 targets over the final six weeks. The Cowboys are desperate for RB help after losing Tony Pollard in free agency and failing to land a RB in the draft. Elliott just might be the favorite to lead the backfield in touches ahead of Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and Royce Freeman. He's still not an exciting fantasy pick. We'll see where his ADP settles.
The Cowboys signed RB Royce Freeman to a one-year deal. It's the 28-year-old's fourth different team in the last three years. Freeman was decent for the Rams last year, rushing 77 times for 319 yards (4.1 YPC) and two TDs. He ranked 21st in Pro Football Focus rushing grade, 29th in yards after contact per attempt, and 16th in PFF Elusive Rating among 69 RBs with 50+ carries. Freeman joins Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and Malik Davis in a Cowboys backfield that still looks like a prime spot for a Day 2 rookie. We'll see exactly what the draft brings, but Freeman is not a good bet for 2024 fantasy value.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) practiced all week and is off the final injury report for Sunday’s game vs. the Commanders. He’ll be back to serve as Dallas’ No. 2 RB after missing Week 17.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) is out for Saturday night's game vs. the Lions. Deuce Vaughn figures to be active as Dallas' No. 2 RB, but Dowdle's absence could mean a few extra touches for RB Tony Pollard.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott rebounded from a relative down week in the win at Carolina to hang 331 yards and 4 TD passes on the Commanders in Week 12. He did so while spreading the ball around more than usual. WR CeeDee Lamb led the way with 9 targets but posted just a 4-53-1 receiving line. WR Brandin Cooks snagged a 31-yard TD among his 4 receptions for 72 yards on 5 targets. The other two scores went to KaVontae Turpin from 34 yards out and RB Rico Dowdle on a 15-yard catch-and-run. The soft opponent certainly helped, but Prescott has now gone over 300 yards with 3+ TDs in four of his past five games. And his remaining schedule ranks third-best for QB scoring, with no truly worrisome spots. Prescott just might prove to be a league winner for 2023.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard found the end zone in Thursday's beatdown of the Commanders, his second straight week with a TD after an eight-game drought. that score from 7 yards out marked his fourth straight game with at least 1 carry from inside the 10-yard line. That's obviously key to his fantasy potential, but TDs will always be relatively unpredictable. Here are three other positive takeaways from the game: 1) Pollard drew 6 targets and led the team with 6 receptions. That marked his second straight game with at least 5 targets and third 5+ target game among the past four. Stabilizing his usage in that area -- which fluctuated across the first four post-bye contests -- would make Pollard a much comfier fantasy start the rest of the way. 2) He delivered a 27-yard run that was his longest since Week 3 and second-longest of the season. Pollard has been missing some of the burst that drove his game in previous seasons but looked good on that run. 3) Rico Dowdle scored but still isn't taking meaningful work away. The backup played 12 snaps (to Pollard's 41), got 3 carries (vs. 13), and ran 5 routes (vs. 22) in a game Dallas won 45-10. Pollard continues to dominate the work. The matchup certainly helped Pollard's Thanksgiving production. According to Pro Football Reference, he's averaging 2.7 yards before contact per carry for the season but got 6.1 per carry against Washington. Pollard's unlikely to get that much help from the rest of his opponents. But positive RB-scoring matchups remain against Seattle next week and at Buffalo in Week 15. A Week 17 home date with the Lions also looks more favorable after the way their defense played the past two weeks than the adjusted fantasy points allowed suggest.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) is active for today’s game vs. the Commanders. He’ll again operate as Dallas’ No. 2 RB and is only in play as a cheap DFS flier.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) is listed as questionable for Thursday's game vs. the Commanders. He was able to play through this injury last week, so we're expecting him to be active tomorrow. But Dowdle is only in play as a DFS tournament flier. His absence would be a boost for RB Tony Pollard. Dowdle has averaged 6.8 carries and 1.0 target per game over the last four -- although a lot of that has come in garbage time.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (ankle) did not practice on Tuesday. He played through this ankle issue last week, so we're tentatively expecting him to be available for Thursday's game vs. Washington. But we'll see how Dowdle is listed on the final injury report tomorrow.
Those looking for a bounceback from Cowboys RB Tony Pollard on Sunday are certainly made happy by the results of Week 11 vs. the Panthers. Pollard ended the game with 12 carries for 61 rushing yards and a TD, his first rushing score since Week 1. He also added 4 catches on 5 targets for 19 receiving yards in the contest. Notably, Pollard’s 18 PPR points notch his highest mark since Week 2 vs. the Jets (19.9) and snap his three-game streak of 10 or fewer points scored. Fellow RB Rico Dowdle didn’t get in the way much either, receiving 12 total touches on a 29.1% snap share in the contest, All of this is assuredly a welcomed change of pace compared to last week’s big letdown. Pollard will have an opportunity to capitalize on the success in Week 12 against a Commanders defense that was gashed by the lowly Giants’ offense for 91 rushing yards on Sunday, their second-highest total allowed over their past seven games.
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