Rico Dowdle Leads Crowded Week 2 Backfield

What They're Saying

Dowdle after the game on the work split: "That’s something that Coach McCarthy wants. He wants a fresh back in at all times. As long as we can go out there and produce, there’s no problem with it."

Dowdle, asked about the backfield's identity so far: "Right now, I really wouldn’t have an answer for that question. We haven’t had a lot of at-bats at the plate…It’s September. We have a lot of football to play. I think as the season goes along, we’ll define what our identity is more."

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

That's two weeks of basically no real fantasy value from the Dallas backfield, and it's apparently by design.

The Cowboys went from a lopsided victory in Week 1 to a lopsided loss in Week 2. Elliott has logged 16 carries to Elliott's 15. And neither has done much to show he deserves to take over.

Vaughn's increase in playing time this week only complicates the situation further. All four of his carries came in the first half, matching Elliott in that timeframe and trailing Dowdle by just one.

We'll see whether Cowboys coaches switch things up for a Week 3 home date with Baltimore. But until something changes, there's not much reason to trust a Dallas RB if you don't need to.