Mike McDaniel did the Carolina Panthers’ defense a huge favor on Sunday

The Carolina Panthers entered Sunday’s game with a 1-3 record, their lone victory a 30-0 shutout of the visiting Atlanta Falcons. No doubt that some home cooking figured to help a team that had been a disaster on the road so far in 2025. Early in the second quarter on Sunday, Dave Canales’s team appeared to be staring 1-4 in the facemask.

Mike McDaniel’s Miami Dolphins owned a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes of play. They added a pair of Tua Tagovailoa touchdown passes in the second quarter and led 17-0 less than 20 minutes into the game. The ‘Fins still owned a 17-10 advantage at intermission.

Carolina’s run defense was one of the worst in NFL history a year ago, allowing 179.8 yards per game. Ejiro Evero’s unit got off to a rocky start in this area in 2025, and entered Sunday’s game with Miami ranked 23rd in the league in rushing defense. So why didn’t McDaniel challenge this defense more with his team holding a three-score lead? While the Dolphins were building a 17-0 second-quarter advantage, they at least kept Carolina’s defense on its heel. They ran the ball eight times, albeit for a mere 13 yards over that span.

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. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

For the remainder of the game, McDaniel’s club totaled six running plays against a team which despite showing recent improvement against the run entered Sunday’s clash allowing 129.3 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, the Panthers never gave up on its ground attack and finished the afternoon with 239 yards rushing—206 yards and one touchdown from Rico Dowdle as he replaced an injured Chuba Hubbard. So much for McDaniel protecting the league’s 30th-ranked run defense entering Week 5.

Give Canales and company the nod for resiliency in coming all the way back from a double-digit deficit for a 27-24 win. Give the Miami Dolphins’ head coach an assist in the victory.

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