Dowdle has 239 yards from scrimmage vs. former team as Panthers beat Cowboys on FG as time expires

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rico Dowdle warned his former Dallas Cowboys teammates last week they’d better get ready and buckle up.

“They wasn’t buckled up,” Dowdle said.

The sixth-year running back went over 200 yards from scrimmage for the second straight week and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Cowboys 30-27 in a wild back-and-forth game on Sunday.

Bryce Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards and threw two of his three touchdown passes to rookie Tetairoa McMillan to help the Panthers (3-3) improve to 3-0 at home.

Dowdle, who spent five years with the Cowboys before signing earlier this year with the Panthers, ran for 183 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown as Carolina avenged home losses to Dallas the last two seasons.

Dowdle’s 473 yards from scrimmage over the past two weeks are a franchise record. He also became the seventh NFL player in the last 20 years to post back-to-back 200 yards games. His 239 yards on Sunday also set a franchise record, breaking the previous mark of 237, set twice by Christian McCaffrey.

“It was personal for him and we knew that. We want to have his back,” Young said. ”That’s our brother and if it’s important to him and it’s personal to him, it’s important to us.”

McMillan hadn’t caught a touchdown pass in the NFL before Sunday after recording 26 over his three seasons at the University of Arizona. But he broke through with scoring receptions of 19 and 2 yards.

Dak Prescott finished 25 of 34 for 261 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys (2-3-1). Dallas wasted a career-best game from George Pickens, who caught nine passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.

The Cowboys were outgained 216-31 on the ground, which proved to be the difference in the game.

“We knew they were a physical football team,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “They were able to run it and we weren’t.”

After the Cowboys tied it with a field goal, Young drove the Panthers 71 yards in 15 plays taking up up more than six minutes off the clock to finish the game. At one point, the Cowboys were trying to let the Panthers to score to get the ball back, but rookie running back Trevor Etienne wisely went down after a first down before the end zone.

Young took a knee twice to set up Fitzgerald’s winning kick.

Young was 3 of 4 for 25 yards on the final drive, including a huge 7-yard completion on fourth-and-4 to Hunter Renfrow to move the chains. Dowdle added 22 yards on four carries against the league’s 32nd-ranked defense.

Trailing 17-13 at halftime, Young found Dowdle alone along the left sideline for a 36-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to give Carolina its first lead of the game. He later threw a second TD pass to McMillan on a play the Panthers just put in this week.

“When we designed that play, he was last in the progression,” Young said. “And we ran it in practice and he was like, ‘I love this play. This is a great design,’ And he told me, ‘If you get back to me (on the route progression), I’m going to go win it.’ It’s great to see the buy in from someone who is last on the progression, but still loves the play.”

Young continued to struggle with first-half turnovers, although this time it was no fault of his own.

McMillan allowed a pass from Young sail through his hands early in the second quarter and Donovan Wilson picked it off and returned it 31 yards to the Carolina 13. That set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Hunter Luepke off a play-action fake on fourth-and-1 giving Dallas a 10-3 lead.

But McMillan, the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL draft, would make up for the mistake on the ensuing possession, with a double move that resulted in a 19-yard touchdown.

Carolina’s struggles to cover the tight end came back to haunt them in the second quarter as Jake Ferguson got free down the seam for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give Dallas a 17-13 lead heading into halftime.

But in the end, there was just too much Dowdle for the Cowboys to handle.

“Great job tonight. Great job last week,” Prescott said of his former teammate. “Rico told us to ‘buckle up’ and he got the last laugh. We’ve got a hell of a group of running backs. I love my team. But I miss the guy. Rico’s a hell of a friend. I’m proud of him more than anything.”

Dallas: Hosts Washington on Sunday.

Carolina: Visits the winless New York Jets on Sunday.