Is Rico Dowdle Playing Today? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Panthers vs. Falcons)

The latest injury update for Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle in Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons.

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle has dealt with a quad injury in recent weeks, but he's off the team's injury report and expected to play on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Dowdle has become one of the best running backs in the league this season since taking over for an injured Chuba Hubbard early on in the campaign. Even with Hubbard back, Dowdle has remained the bellcow for a 5-5 Panthers team that has an outside chance at a playoff spot in the NFC.

This season, Dowdle has carried the ball 149 times for 788 yards and five scores while adding 18 receptions for 142 yards and another score. He's put up 100 or more rushing yards three times this season, including a 206-yard day against Miami.

While Hubbard will still factor into the Carolina backfield, Dowdle played 72.4 percent of the team's snaps in Week 9 and 79.2 percent of the snaps in Week 10. He's the clear leader of the backfield going forward, making him an interesting prop target on Sunday.

Best Rico Dowdle Prop Bet vs. Falcons

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Rico Dowdle OVER 87.5 Rushing Yards (-112)

Rico Dowdle to go over his rushing yards total is SI NFL betting insider Iain MacMillan's No. 7-ranked player prop for Week 11:

It's hard to throw the ball against the Falcons. But you can certainly run the ball against them. The Falcons rank 28th in opponent rush EPA, 29th in opponent rush success rate, and they allow 4.9 yards per carry. Just look at last week's game against the Colts when Jonathan Taylor went off for 200+ yards on the ground. That's good news for Panthers fans. Rico Dowdle has been fantastic for them this season, averaging 5.3 yards per rush.

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