Dallas responded the same way it treated the coach who believed in him, dismissing Dowdle’s viability as a key part of the Cowboys’ future. Dowdle got the message and walked freely to Carolina, where he faced similar doubts that faded only after he was needed most when starter Chuba Hubbard went down with an injury. Dowdle exploded for 206 yards in his first start and then followed that up with 30 carries and 183 yards in a win over his old team.
That production should have been enough for Dowdle to secure a permanent spot in coach Dave Canales’ offensive line. It didn’t, and after being pushed back into the shadow of the reserve role, Dowdle found himself looking for employment again in 2026.
That’s when McCarthy’s Steelers called him, forming a doubleheader backfield that balances Jaylen Warren’s physical running style — the “thunder” to Dowdle’s “lightning” — with Dowdle’s explosiveness.
That’s exactly how running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung described their pairing Thursday.
“It’s a ‘Thunder and Lightning’ vibe with those two guys,” Chinyoung said. “Both of them have the ability to do a lot of things from a system standpoint and they’re interchangeable.
Dowdle will find a tribe in Warren, a non-competitive running back who fought his way out of an irrelevant role into a priority role in the NFL. The same tenacity and determination that powered their NFL journeys will now power Pittsburgh’s backfield under McCarthy, a coach who values a quality player regardless of draft position.
As Dowdle sees it, he couldn’t have found a better next step on his NFL path.
“We’ve got two guys who can go out there and do the job at a high level,” Dowdle said. “The coaches will decide how it goes. And I just come out here and do my best every day and let the rest take care of itself.”