Dave Canales won't say who the Carolina Panthers are starting at running back

Rico Dowdle has been the best rusher in the NFL over the last two weeks, racking up a remarkable 473 yards from scrimmage in two wins for the Carolina Panthers.

It might seem like an obvious choice to continue starting Dowdle this week even though Chuba Hubbard will be returning to the lineup. However, the Panthers have made a bad habit of avoiding the obvious thing in recent years, and this call could be another case.

Head coach Dave Canales told reporters yesterday that the team has decided who will be starting at running back tomorrow against the New York Jets and getting the majority of the carries. Canales isn't saying who, though.

Canales: Panthers have internally made decision on who will start at RB and get majority of carries.

He refused to divulge which RB.
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 17, 2025

Hubbard had a fine 2024 season and he does have a leadership role this team. That being said, giving the ball to anyone but Rico Dowdle would qualify as a terrible unforced error by the coaching staff.

No matter what intangibles Hubbard might bring to the table, the right thing to do is to continue riding Dowdle until he either cools off or he gets injured.

Nobody seems to have any solid idea of what the Panthers have planned, but for whatever it's worth the consensus guess seems to be that Dowdle will get something like two-thirds of the workload at running back and Hubbard will get the other third.

While it's better than the silly 60/40 arrangement the Seattle Seahawks have going in their backfield - where Ken Walker should be the workhorse back and Zach Charbonnet should be on the bench - it's still silly to spit the carries like this.

Despite putting in extra work on the jugs machine every day for the last three years, Hubbard has no value as a receiver - while Dowdle has proved very potent as a third-down receiving option over the last two games.

More importantly, Dowdle has been far a more efficient and explosive rusherthan Hubbard, who has yet to break off a single explosive run this season or force even one missed tackle.

The correct way forward is clear - and that the Panthers won't even give Dowdle enough respect to name him their starter going forward is not a good sign for the rushing plan.

Oct 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) with the ball as Miami Dolphins free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) defends in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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