Cowboys studs and duds from Preseason Week 2 vs. Chargers

Stud: Rico Dowdle, RB

Undrafted out of South Carolina in 2020, Rico Dowdle spent the majority of his rookie season inactive and never made it to the field. In 2021, he was able to suit up for 15 games, but played mostly on special teams, finishing with just 24 yards on seven carries.

So far in this preseason though, he’s making a case for more opportunities. After gaining 36 yards on nine carries against Denver, Dowdle had 44 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and added an eight-yard reception as well.

The longest run of the night for Dowdle was a 15-yarder, which came on the same drive where he punched it in for six.

Dud: Jalen Tolbert, WR

Jalen Tolbert is someone Dallas really wants to see find success. In Week 1, he had just two receptions for 10 yards on seven targets. This week, he was better with 25 yards on two catches but should have been able to pull in all four of his targets.

The rookie dropped a pass on third-and-nine and while there was tight coverage, those are the passes he needs to pull down. After that, it looked like he had a touchdown but didn’t get his right foot down in bounds.

Dallas then needed a fourth-down conversion to keep that drive alive — which ended with a Dowdle touchdown — but it should have ended on that second-down pass.