What Dave Canales said about the Rico Dowdle-Chuba Hubbard arrangement

The Carolina Panthers improved to 4-3 with their first road win of the season. It was a hard-fought game, which ended in a 13-6 victory over the New York Jets. It's not all smiles for Carolina, however, as quarterback Bryce Young had to leave the game with an ankle injury.

There were some positives as well, with their running back duo standing out as the most promising part of their offense. Rico Dowdle, who broke out while Chuba Hubbard was injured, had another solid outing. It wasn't as explosive as when he gained 206 yards against the Miami Dolphins or 183 yards against the Dallas Cowboys, but he still led the way with 79 yards on 17 attempts.

It was good to see Dowdle had the majority of the carries, since he's been on fire since taking over. There was also some doubt that would be the case when Hubbard was out there with the starting team. Hubbard wasn't nearly as effective, gaining just 31 yards on 14 attempts. He did, however, add 24 yards on two receptions.

Dave Canales speaks on Panthers RB situation following Week 7 win

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard runs with the ball in the second quarter against the New York Jets. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

After the game, Canales didn't say how they would split the carries going forward, but is thankful to have two options he trusts.

"It felt great for me to know, whoever I was calling the run for, I expect great execution out of these guys and, you know, Chuba even had a couple of excellent runs, you know, on the perimeter, you know, with screens."

Dave Canales liked the way the two back rotation worked for the #Panthers pic.twitter.com/om1XmolEWi
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) October 19, 2025

Hubbard had 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, establishing himself as a legit No. 1 back. Dowdle also topped 1,000 yards, going for 1,079 for the Cowboys.

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