Panthers coach Dave Canales doubles down on bad decision at running back

The Carolina Panthers made the decision to start Chuba Hubbard and play him slightly more than Rico Dowdle on Sunday. It was the wrong decision given how incredible Dowdle had been in relief of Hubbard, who was fairly underwhelming before getting hurt, but it was understandable.

Now, however, with one game of data with the two working in tandem, it's much harder to justify operating the same way. Dowdle was significantly better on Sunday, and Hubbard was pretty disappointing. Yet, Dave Canales liked what he saw and isn't planning to change anything.

Dave Canales won't make the easy choice for Panthers at RB

Head coach Dave Canales opted to essentially play Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle in alternating fashion, giving one player the first drive (Hubbard) before switching and then alternating the rest of the way.

Dowdle was way better, generating over five yards per touch compared to Hubbard's a little more than three yards. One back looked like a starter, and the other didn't. Canales just doesn't seem willing to concede that.

Dave Canales plans to continue with two back approach with Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle. Two players he says he can trust pic.twitter.com/800e4CgbUa
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) October 20, 2025

Canales plans to continue with the two-back approach. This isn't faulty inherently. In fact, it's smart football. They can emulate the Detroit Lions, for example. But one player should clearly be the RB1, and it shouldn't be Hubbard. That's where Canales is wrong.

He said that he trusts both backs, but he also said he liked how Hubbard performed on a couple of runs and had a really nice screen play. Hubbard might've scored on said screen play, but he ran right past his convoy of untouched blockers. And overall, including those nice runs, Hubbard was thoroughly underwhelming.

"I'm excited to get to go this week with two backs that I trust that will really run the type of style that I expect," the head coach concluded. That's all well and good, and it should be how the Panthers operate, especially with Bryce Young potentially missing some time. But it should be Dowdle's job with Hubbard backing up. They can still split carries and give Hubbard his due touches, but the majority should go to Dowdle, and that may not happen.

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