Our writers provide their opinions on the latest Dallas Cowboys news during our weekly review on the Roundtable.
Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Brian Martin, Tom Ryle, and RJ Ochoa.
With the loss to Cincinnati, does that remove all playoff hopes this season?
Some may say that any playoff chance was all but gone many weeks ago, but there was some hope before the agonizing defeat on Monday Night Football to Cincinnati. The best result now for Dallas this season would be 9-8, but that’s assuming the team could defeat Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Washington who are all on winning records. It makes that final error off the blocked punt all the more painful.
Tom: Technically, the Cowboys have not been eliminated from the playoffs, but that can best be described as that, a technicality. With the Eagles and Commanders as their last two opponents, it is hard to imagine the many, many things happening that have to fall just right to get them into the postseason. Now they have lost yet another star performer, DeMarvion Overshown (who’s injury could be more than just season-ending, sadly), and Cooper Beebe became the latest offensive lineman to have to leave the field. It’s really just the inevitable outcome of a season that was set up to fail almost from the first day of the offseason in February.
Jess: Let’s not kid ourselves; they were gone before Monday night. The idea that Dallas was going to catch up to the Commanders was one thing, but also leapfrogging the Bucs, Cardinals, 49ers, and Rams to get into the last wild card spot just wasn’t realistic. It made for fun discussion and appeased the “never say die” portion of Cowboys Nation, but must of us knew that Week 18 is going to be the merciful end of this season.
Brian: The simple answer is yes. It would’ve taken a miracle for the Cowboys to make the playoffs after their early-season blunders. And even though they weren’t mathematically removed from making the playoffs, they pretty much would’ve had to win out the rest of the season as well as get some help from other teams to have a chance of making the postseason. I think we can safely say now they have just four more games to play this year and that’s it.
RJ: Mathematically speaking obviously the Cowboys have some semblance of a chance, but I do have to say that Monday night felt like a point of no return in terms of energy. This season has been lost from just about the moment it set out to sea and the two wins in a row helped distract us from that. They may find a way to make it mildly interesting again, but this thing is toast.
Does Rico Dowdle’s recent form remove the need to draft a running back early in the draft?
The last four weeks has seen Rico Dowdle steadily increase in rush yards per game and now he has consecutive career games topped off with a performance against Cincinnati that saw him go for 131 rush yards and average an insane 7.3 yards per carry. The entire season has seen Dallas struggle in the run game, but the coaches have finally seen the light and have given Dowdle the nod to go out there and be all he can be. In the last two weeks, Dowdle has averaged 121 rush yards per game, the most in the NFL in that timeframe, more than Saquon Barkley.
Tom: At first, it could appear that way, but the pendulum is making another swing in the NFL and the running back position is starting to regain some of the value it has lost as the passing game ascended. It still does not seem like a good idea to draft a back in the first couple of rounds, but if there was a superstar back sitting on the board and they took him, I would not rend my clothing and heap ashes on my head the way I once would have. Dowdle certainly takes the pressure off, though. They have plenty of other concerns they need to address first.
Jess: Dowdle’s a free agent so we can’t count on his return, but it does show that a productive RB can be found in a variety of ways. Many were clamoring for Dallas to use an early pick on Jonathan Brooks last year, but imagine if we just had a fourth-round guy like Chuba Hubbard? He’s the NFL’s sixth-leading rusher right now despite playing for one of the league’s worst passing teams. Just find a guy who fits your system and good things will happen.
Brian: Considering Rico Dowdle is a pending free agent after the completion of the 2024 season, the Cowboys draft needs for the running back position don’t change. What Dowdle has done is make a case for himself to be a top priority re-signing for them in the offseason. He’s shown he can be a capable starter and shouldn’t cost too much to bring back. Even if they do that though, RB will still be a “need” at some point in the 2025 NFL Draft.
RJ: Let me say that Rico Dowdle has been amazing here as of late, but if we are going to fall in love with something and forego a need then we are committing the same crimes over and over and over again. The primary lesson learned from the front office has to be that there is never enough that you can have. In that spirit, they better draft a running back. Hopefully not one too soon, though.
This week the Cowboys take on the Carolina Panthers. What will the final score be and give one hot take for the game?
The Dallas Cowboys take on the Carolina Panthers this Sunday, kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET. The game is being played at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte and sees the Panthers currently as -2.5 favorites to win this game. The Cowboys are now 5-8 and sit third in the NFC East, where the Panthers are 3-10 and last in the NFC South. Historically between these two teams Dallas has a two-game winning streak and has won seven out of the last ten matchups. Dallas leads the series 11-5 against Carolina.
Tom: I think this could be the last hurrah for Dallas, with a close 23-20 win. Carolina is the softest remaining opponent, and things just get tougher for them with the division-leading Buccaneers after that before they finish with Philadelphia and Washington. My hot take is that Dowdle will have his third 100-yard game in a row and pretty much take it on his shoulders to get the win.
Jess: Between the way they lost and the awful DeMarvion Overshown injury, this last one might have broken the Cowboys’ spirit. Now they have to go on the road on a short week, plus the Panthers have been showing heart lately. This last little flurry of fight from Dallas was cute, but the second wind is now probably out of their sails. Panthers 30, Cowboys 20.
Brian: The Panthers were very close to pulling off an upset win last week against the Eagles in front of Philadelphia’s hometown crowd. Now with the home-field advantage, it would be all that surprising to see them get the Cowboys as much trouble. I think this game will end up being decided by one score and that will be off of the foot of Dallas’ kicker Brandon Aubrey. Cowboys 20, Panthers 17.
RJ: I think that I am going to take the Cowboys to win this one and keep things mildly close yet again. It’s not that I believe in them or don’t believe in the Panthers, but that is just the way these things tend to go. For a hot take, how about Jonathan Mingo catching his first touchdown with his new team and it being against his old team?
