Rico Dowdle — Week 1: Eight Carries, Fifteen Yards, One That Worked
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 14
Dowdle's first carry as a Steeler went six yards and was the only one of his eight that gained what the down asked; the other seven totaled nine. He was thrown to five times and caught two for six yards, and the two incompletions on second and third and nine at the Atlanta twenty-five turned Pittsburgh's first scoring chance into a forty-three-yard field goal in a 20–13 win over the Falcons.
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The full episode, in writing
Rico Dowdle's day in Pittsburgh started at the top. First and 10 at the Pittsburgh 32, 12 oh four left in the first quarter, no score: up the middle for six, a successful play by the standard of what the down asked. It was the last one of those he had. The seven carries after it went one, three, none, three, none, −2 four, 15 yards on the eight in all, no first downs, and −3.3 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position.
The targets are the other half. Five throws his way, two catches, six yards, −3.3 on the five, and the two that cost the most were back to back on the game's first scoring drive. Second and nine at the Atlanta 25 with eight 43 left in the first, Aaron Rodgers short left to Dowdle, incomplete. Third and nine from the same spot, short right, incomplete, Maason Smith on the play. Chris Boswell kicked a 43-yarder, and three and nothing was the lead instead of something bigger. The third incompletion was second and 16 from the Pittsburgh eight with six 24 left in the half; the two catches went two yards on second and five at the Atlanta 47 in the third and four on second and seven in the third, both pushed out of bounds. His last three carries were the clock-killing series: none, −2 four, from the Pittsburgh eight, the 22 and the 44, between four 16 two 28 of the fourth quarter.
Jaylen Warren carried 10 times for 46, Dowdle eight for 15, and Rodgers had three kneels. Warren was targeted six times, Dowdle five. Five of Dowdle's carries came before halftime and three after; Pittsburgh ran 10 times in the first half and 11 in the second, so his share of it halved. The Steelers went three of 12 on third down, and Dowdle's one third-down target was the incompletion at the 25.
The June preview's title was "back-to-back thousand-yard seasons, a new committee," and the availability figure — 75 percent — was the number it said cut against him. Sunday the committee was real and close, eight carries to 10, and the yards were not there on his half of it. That is one game, behind one line, against one front, and the preview never promised the split would favor him. Pittsburgh is at the Patriots on Sunday the twentieth, and the thing to watch is whether the eight carries stay eight.
_Data via nflverse._
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