Why one NFL writer recommends sitting Rico Dowdle vs. Rams this week

A big game on the ground from Rico Dowdle may be Carolina's only chance at an upset, but one fantasy expert is betting against it.

Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs with the ball in the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The last time that the Carolina Panthers faced the team with the best record in the NFC, they pulled off a stunning upset at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers.

All due respect to what the Panthers did that day, the Los Angeles Rams are an entirely different kind of animal.

We won't lie about their chances - unless LA somehow suffers a total collapse into incompetence the way that the Packers did in what seems like eons ago - the Panthers don't have a prayer at an upset - and keeping the final point differential under seven points should be considered a huge win.

What slim hope there is at an upset lies in the legs of Rico Dowdle, who went off on Green Bay for 130 yards and two touchdowns. However, one fantasy football expert recommends sitting Dowdle his week. Here's what Gary Davenport at Bleacher Report had to say about it.

"There's no way the Panthers would be a .500 football team were it not for the hard running of Dowdle. However, he has just 25 carries for 83 yards over the past two games combined, and now faces a stout Rams defense that has surrendered the third-fewest PPR points per game to running backs this year."

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

This is fair to point out - but it's also probably worth mentioning that the Packers were playing even better against the run when Dowdle demolished them.

The real trouble isn't how Dowdle matches up against the Rams' defensive front-seven - the issue is that his own head coach doesn't seem to recognize that he's found a superstar in his backfield on accident.

Since Dowdle had his initial explosion in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, he's only seen 20 or more carries once - against Green Bay. Dowdle has also been slowed somewhat in recent weeks as the Saints and Falcons loaded up aganst him and dared Bryce Young to beat them.

Even when Dowdle was efficient against the 49ers last week - averaging over six yards per carry - Canales only gave him six carries. Given how limited Bryce Young's game is, that amounts to full-blown football criminal negligence.

So, while Dowdle definitely has the potential to surprise everybody and put up big numbers against the Rams, Davenport is probably right that he's better off on your bench.

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