- A strong showing on the ground: As a team, the Panthers racked up 216 net rushing yards at 5.7 yards per carry, generating 0.16 EPA per rush — a 93rd-percentile single-game performance this season.
- Rico Dowdle makes his statement: Dowdle, playing his former team for the first time since signing with Carolina in free agency, made sure they remembered what they lost. The veteran back rushed 30 times for 183 yards (6.1 yards per carry), added four receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown and moved the chains 10 times on the ground.
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The Carolina Panthers outlasted the Dallas Cowboys 30–27 in a wild, back-and-forth matchup on Sunday. And the difference in the game came down to one clear factor: the run game.
Carolina, led by former Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle, gashed Dallas on the ground all afternoon, while the Cowboys’ rushing attack fell flat. The win moves the Panthers to 3–3 on the year and drops the Cowboys to 2–3–1.
Dowdle makes his statement
Dowdle, playing his former team for the first time since signing with Carolina in free agency, made sure they remembered what they lost. The veteran back rushed 30 times for 183 yards (6.1 yards per carry), added four receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown, and moved the chains 10 times on the ground.
He forced three missed tackles, with 89 of his yards coming before contact and 94 after contact, averaging 3.0 yards before and 3.1 yards after contact per attempt.
“It’s going to be a very physical game from my end,” Dowdle said ahead of the matchup. “Just take pride in that… I definitely want to go out there and have a good game versus them.”
And he did.
Carolina’s rushing attack delivers
As a team, the Panthers racked up 216 net rushing yards at 5.7 yards per carry, generating 0.16 EPA per rush — a 93rd-percentile single-game performance this season. Their ball carriers averaged 2.6 yards before contact, thanks in large part to solid play up front.
All five starting offensive linemen graded well on first review, each earning an overall mark above 67.0. Cade Mays led the group with a 75.8 run-blocking grade, while Damien Lewis (68.0), Yosh Nijman (67.4), and Brady Christensen (68.9) all delivered strong performances. Ikem Ekwonu, though the lowest-graded run blocker of the group, still posted a respectable 64.4 in that department, rounding out a cohesive effort up front.
Dallas’ ground game comes up empty
For the Cowboys, the contrast was jarring. Their rushing attack was virtually non-existent, posting -0.45 EPA per play — a second-percentile mark across the league this season. Despite 19 attempts, they managed just 31 rushing yards (1.6 yards per attempt).
On average, Dallas runners were hit 0.1 yards behind the line of scrimmage. After contact, they managed just 1.7 yards per carry. The offense didn’t register a single explosive run (10-plus yards) or a single forced missed tackle. They lost five total yards on three tackles for loss.
Javonte Williams, the lead back, struggled mightily — finishing with 29 yards on 12 carries. Just five of those yards came before contact, and he averaged only 0.4 yards before contact per attempt. His 24 yards after contact were hard-earned, but the inefficiency was glaring.
Carolina’s defense really held its own against the run, with four different defenders recording multiple run stops. Bobby Brown III notched two tackles for loss, while Christian Roseboom, Derrick Brown and A'Shawn Robinson each added two stops of their own. Among the 12 Panthers who played at least 10 run defense snaps, seven earned run-defense grades above 70.0 on first review — a strong collective showing in the trenches.
Same problems in Dallas
It’s hard not to wonder whether the Cowboys are second-guessing their decision to let Dowdle walk in free agency. While Carolina leaned on him as the centerpiece of a dominant rushing effort, Dallas looked lost on the ground, unable to generate push or create space for its backs.
For Dallas, the struggles defending the run are nothing new. Since the start of the 2024 season, they rank 30th in rushing yards per attempt allowed, 31st in yards before contact allowed and 30th in explosive runs surrendered. Their 0.074 EPA allowed per rush is the worst mark in the league by a considerable margin.
Ironically, the only team close to them in that span has been the Carolina Panthers — the very team that just overwhelmed their front and neutralized their ground game entirely.
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