Cowboys players dare Panthers' Rico Dowdle to back up trash talk

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle generated headlines when he warned earlier in the week that the Dallas Cowboys, his former club, have "got to buckle up" ahead of this coming Sunday's game between the two sides. 

Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer later insisted the Cowboys will "have our seatbelts" ready. On Wednesday, Cowboys players responded to Dowdle's fiery comments. 

Rico Dowdle has "got to back it up" vs. Cowboys

"Man, he got to back it up," Cowboys defensive tackle Kenny Clark said, per Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. “I’m not much into talking. They ain’t play nobody like us. We ain’t play them. So he’ll watch the film and see what he’s playing against."

Dowdle featured for the Cowboys from 2020-24, but Dallas let him reach free agency after he rushed for 1,079 yards last season. Most recently, he accumulated 234 total yards from scrimmage to help Carolina earn a 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins that improved the Panthers to 2-3 this past Sunday. 

"I definitely understand where he’s coming from just in terms of him being here last year," Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa added about Dowdle. "But we’re approaching it the same way that we approach every week, another championship opportunity."

Rico Dowdle doesn't back down from original comments

Also on Wednesday, Dowdle had an opportunity to walk back his original comments. He instead went down a different route. 

"They gotta buckle up," Dowdle said about the Cowboys, as shared by Joseph Person of The Athletic. "Stand on that. That was just meaning it’s going to be a very physical game from my end. I just take pride in that. Buckle the chin straps up tight, and I will be coming."

For what it's worth, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones passed on an opportunity to give Dowdle any bulletin board material during a midweek appearance on Dallas sports radio station 105.3 The Fan. 

"I don’t wish him well out here against us Sunday," Jones said about Dowdle. "But I wish him well. He was always one of my favorite backs." 

As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had the 2-2-1 Cowboys as 3.5-point favorites against the Panthers.