Dave Canales reveals what he loves about late-blooming star RB Rico Dowdle

You could make a case that he’s been the best offseason addition by any NFL team. Running back Rico Dowdle has jumpstarted the Carolina Panthers’ offense.

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) breaks away for a long gain with less than a minute left in the game against the Green Bay Packers during their football game Sunday, November 2, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Carolina won 16-13. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers are 4-1 in their last five outings after dropping three of their first four contests. The club is coming of a surprising 16-13 victory over the first-place Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. It was another big day for relentless running back Rico Dowdle, who finished with 25 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the last-second victory.

“From carry one it was attitude,’’ stated Panthers’ head coach Dave Canales (via ESPN’s David Netwon). “It was aggression and violence at the end of it, and it really does affect the group. It affects the whole sideline when they see that kind of energy and that kind of violence. It gives them confidence, and it’s who we want to be.’’

Green Bay Packers' Edgerrin Cooper (56) pursues Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) during the third quarter of their game Sunday, November 2, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

These days, the 5-4 Panthers are being one of the best running teams in the league, ranked fifth in rushing yards per contest (139.8). The former Cowboys’ backfield presence has picked up where he left off late in 2024 with Dallas, and has been nothing short of sensational when he’s been in the opening lineup.

Let’s go back to Week 13 of a year ago. In Dowdle’s last nine starts (6 with the Cowboys, 3 with the Panthers), Dowdle has totaled 201 carries for 1,110 yards and five touchdowns. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in seven of those nine starts, and it’s hard to ignore his intensity.

“I just love when he runs the ball,’’ added Canales (via Newton). “He runs physically. When he finishes his runs, makes the DBs have to show up, make a decision on whether to put a shoulder on him or not, it gets the group going. And the guys get really animated when he finishes runs in a violent manner.’’

Dowdle currently leads the NFC with 735 yards on the ground, and is third in the league in this category behind only the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor (895) and the Bills’ James Cook (867).

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