Rico Dowdle Fantasy Football Week 2: Stats and Projections vs. Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rico Dowdle will take on the team with last year's sixth-ranked run defense, the New England Patriots (101.7 yards allowed per game), in Week 2 -- beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Is Dowdle a DFS option for you this week, as he goes up against the Patriots? More stats and information can be found below, so take a look.

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Rico Dowdle Week 2 Fantasy Football Projection

• Matchup: Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
• Game Date: September 20, 2026
• Game Time: 1 p.m.
• Projected Fantasy Points: 7.6
• PPR Projected Fantasy Points: 8.0
• Projected Rushing Yards: 54.77
• Projected Rushing TDs: 0.25
• Projected Receiving Yards: 5.52
• Projected Receiving TDs: 0.03

Projections provided by numberFire

Dowdle 2025 Fantasy Performance

• Dowdle picked up 177.3 fantasy points (10.4 per game), 16th at his position and 48th in the NFL.
• In his one game so far this year, Dowdle had 15 rushing yards on eight attempts and zero touchdowns, and six receiving yards on two catches (five targets), ending up with 2.1 fantasy points.
• In his best game last year -- Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys -- Dowdle accumulated 29.9 fantasy points. His stat line: 30 carries, 183 yards; 4 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD.
• In Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, Dowdle posted 29.4 fantasy points (his second-best total last year), via these numbers: 23 carries, 206 yards, 1 TD; 3 receptions, 28 yards.
• In Week 18 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dowdle posted a season-low 1.0 fantasy points, courtesy of this stat line: 7 carries, 10 yards.
• In his second-worst performance of the year -- Week 1 versus the Los Angeles Rams -- Dowdle had 1.5 fantasy points. His stat line: 5 carries, 9 yards.

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Patriots Defensive Performance

• New England gave up over 300 passing yards to just two QBs last year.
• 15 players have thrown for at least one touchdown in a contest against the Patriots last year.
• In the passing game, New England allowed seven players to throw two or more touchdowns in a game last year.
• Versus the Patriots last year, only three players threw for at least three touchdowns in a game.
• Versus New England last season, five players collected more than 100 receiving yards in a game.
• In terms of pass defense, the Patriots gave up a touchdown reception to 21 players last season.
• Looking at pass defense, New England allowed only three players to catch at least two touchdown passes against it last year.
• In the ground game, four players picked up more than 100 rushing yards in a game against the Patriots last season.
• On the ground, New England allowed nine players to score at least one rushing touchdown against them last season.
• The Patriots allowed at least two rushing TDs on the ground to just two players last year.

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