The Dallas Cowboys won at home for the first time this season. They did it against the New York Giants while the whole country watched on Thanksgiving, and yet seemingly half the fan base sulked that Dallas had hurt its draft position by winning the game.

No victory is worth apologizing for. Finding ways to win division games without your star quarterback isn’t a bad thing.

There was hardly any reason to celebrate this season. However, one shining light throughout was running back Rico Dowdle.

It wasn’t even a month ago when the Cowboys finally admitted that Dowdle was the best RB on the roster and decided to make him their workhorse. The fact that it took nearly ten games and an entire summer of evidence to register this is a disgrace to the organization.

Although Mike McCarthy has an affinity for Ezekiel Elliott, we’re guessing he realized pretty early on that Dowdle single-handedly deserved to have the backfield. That leaves Jerry Jones, the franchise’s mastermind, as the mastermind behind Dowdle’s stunning effort in the first two-plus months of the campaign.

Dowdle was once again the engine of the Dallas offense. He rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 5.1 yards per carry. He bounced off tacklers at will and made several explosive runs to take the pressure off the team’s difficult passing game.

Dowdle became the first Cowboy to rush for 100 yards in 26 games. According to Next Gen Stats, he forced 10 missed tackles. This is the most by a Cowboy since Ezekiel Elliott in Week 16 of the 2020 season.

These numbers are not a mirage. For months, Cowboys fans have been shouting from the rooftop that Dowdle is capable of doing this. He is a legitimate starting running back if he is healthy and given the opportunity. Although this is new information, it is not at all surprising.

Imagine if Dallas had chosen Dowdle as their RB1 from day one. It’s franchise misconduct, it took nine games for this decision to be made. It’s also a wonder Dowdle kept his head down while the front office insisted Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook could provide a spark.

Dowdle even managed three possessions without a carry on Thursday. This is complete negligence on Mike McCarthy’s part, but this was a problem with Jerry Jones playing favorites. The solution at running back was to stare him in the face the whole time.

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