The Dallas Cowboys are mired in a highly disappointing season. There hasn’t been much to feel good about, but Rico Dowdle stamping himself as a quality starting running back is near the top of the list, if not alone at the top.

Even though Cowboys fans were screaming from the hilltops in training camp that Dowdle should be fed like a workhorse, it wasn’t until five weeks ago that Dallas took the training wheels off and committed to Dowdle as their lead back.

Dowdle has become the offense’s engine since Cooper Rush took over at quarterback – even more so than CeeDee Lamb. So it was concerning earlier this week when Dowdle popped up on the injury report with a knee injury.

Fortunately, it seems Dallas was just abiding by the NFL rulebook. Dowdle practiced in full and does not carry an injury designation for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle will play in Week 15 vs. Panthers

This is a huge relief for both the Cowboys and fantasy football managers. It is the first week of the fantasy football playoffs and Dowdle has emerged as a must-start.

Since Week 9, only Saquon Barkley has more rushing yards than Dowdle. The 26-year-old also ranks third in yards per carry during that stretch. With 131 rushing yards last week vs. the Bengals, Dowdle became the first Cowboys RB since Tony Pollard in 2022 to turn in consecutive 100-yard games.

With Dowdle’s recent surge, he is quietly closing in on 1,000 yards for the season. He needs 269 yards over the final three games to reach the milestone. With a strong performance against a soft Panthers run defense, Dowdle can put himself in the driver’s seat.

That Dowdle is even sniffing 1,000 yards is incredible given how the season started. He was shoehorned into a committee with the underperforming Ezekiel Elliott. There were games when Dalvin Cook and even Deuce Vaughn saw touches as third-stringers.

We like to think Mike McCarthy was told by ownership to keep Elliott involved despite his poor rushing efficiency and lack of professionalism. It’s disconcerting to think what the offense would have looked like if Dowdle was given 15-20 touches per game from the jump, but there is no sense dwelling on the past.

The Cowboys would rectify a lot of their wrongdoings by extending Dowdle. They sadly don’t frequent in handing out mid-season extensions, but the fan base will settle for signing him in any capacity before he reaches free agency.

He has simply been that good.