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Rico Dowdle told Jaycee Horn exactly what he would do vs. Dolphins

Despite the presence of two 1,000-yard runners from a year ago, Carolina's ground game hadn’t done much four weeks into 2025. Rico Dowdle changed that Sunday.
Russell Baxter|
Oct 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) carries the ball during the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) carries the ball during the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

In preparation for the 2025 NFL season, Carolina Panthers’ general manager Dan Morgan was busy during the free agency period adding numerous veterans to the league’s worst defensive unit. One of the fewest offensive additions prior to the draft was running back Rico Dowdle. He inked a one-year, $2,75 million with the club (via Spotrac). The former University of South Carolina product was coming off a career-year, rushing for 1,079 yards (2 TDs) with the Dallas Cowboys.

Panthers’ running back Chuba Hubbard was also coming off his best performance as a pro, running for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns. How would head coach Dave Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik utilize the pair of productive performers?

Four games into the season, the ground game had averaged a so-so 100.3 yards per game, 26th in the league. To be fair, Carolina’s offensive front was dealing with its share of injuries. Entering Sunday’s clash with the visiting Miami Dolphins, there would be a different issue as Hubbard would miss the game. Dowdle would be making his first start for the Panthers against the visiting Miami Dolphins. The five-year pro shortchanged himself when it came to his pregame prediction.

Dowdle finished with 206 yards rushing on 23 carries and one touchdown in the Panthers’ 27-24 come-from-behind victory. In the second half alone, he totaled 13 attempts for 133 yards and his lone TD. Sunday’s showing was the top rushing performance by a player in the league this season.

Carolina rallied from a 17-0 second-quarter deficit because Canales and Idzik never abandoned the running game against a Dolphins’ defensive unit that had allowed 158.0 yards per game rushing in their first four contests this season. The Panthers finished the game with 239 yards on the ground, easily a season high.

It's too early to determine whether Hubbard will be available this upcoming Sunday as the Panthers host the Dallas Cowboys. Regardless, Dowdle will get a look at his former team this weekend.

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Russell Baxter
RUSSELL BAXTER

Russell S. Baxter has been writing and researching the game of football for more than 40 years, and on numerous platforms. That includes television, as he spent more than two decades at ESPN, and was part of shows that garnered five Emmy Awards. He also spent the 2015 NFL season with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFLN.