Rico Dowdle's feeling good, and ready to build on what he's done so far

Dec 31, 2025 at 05:04 PM

Darin Gantt

The Carolina Panthers practice on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025 at Bank of American Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

CHARLOTTE — There are a couple of things Rico Dowdle is confident about.

For one, his toe is fine. But also, as well as this year has gone for him, there's more that he can do.

The Panthers running back missed Tuesday's walk-through because of a toe issue, but was back on the practice field Wednesday and declared himself fine for Saturday's pivotal game against the Buccaneers.

"I'm good. That toe ain't nothing to worry about," Dowdle said with a laugh on Wednesday.

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That's good news for the Panthers, as they attempt to secure their first division title in a decade.

Having a healthy Dowdle can't hurt, because when the Panthers have run the ball efficiently and often enough, things have gone well for them. In their eight wins, they're averaging 31.8 rushing attempts per game. In their eight losses, it's 24.1.

"Good things happen when you run the ball; you run the ball when good things happen," Panthers head coach Dave Canales likes to say. "It works both ways, and it's a part of who we are."

The Panthers haven't reached the stratospheric heights of midseason when Dowdle was on his heater, and have only topped 150 rushing yards in a game once since the win at Green Bay (and that was the Rams game here, when they ran it 40 times for 164 yards.

Dowdle, who had 389 rushing yards in the wins against the Cowboys and Dolphins in Weeks 5 and 6, has only topped 80 yards once since then (when he had 130 at Green Bay).

Canales acknowledged again this week that his plan always involves running it, though the 20 carries against the Bucs two weeks ago were their fewest in a loss.

Dowdle would love to add to that, because it's been a part of their successful football this year.

"I mean, not much is going to change in two weeks; we faced them two weeks ago, so it's really going to be the same thing," he said. "It's late in the season, so you are what you are, so we'll see, we know what they do and they know what we do."

And what Dowdle has done this year is perform.

The Panthers brought him here this year to be Chuba Hubbard's backup, after both went for over 1,000 yards last season (1,195 for Hubbard, 1,079 for Dowdle in Dallas). This year, Dowdle is at 1,066 to Hubbard's 501, and Dowdle took over the lead role while Hubbard was injured and hasn't given it back. The end result is a rushing offense that's ranked 11th in the league at 122.4 yards per game.

The Carolina Panthers face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

Dowdle admitted he didn't know what this year was going to look like, since he knew he was coming to Hubbard's team.

"I didn't really know. I just knew it was a run-heavy team," he said. "Coach Canales likes to run the ball, and like I said, they had Chuba coming off his best season, me coming off my best season.

"So just coming in to really spare him, and, like I said, there'd be no drop off when one running back came out of the game. And then, make the most of my opportunities."

He's done that, which is part of the reason the Panthers are in this position, a win away from the first home playoff game since 2015.

Through it all, Dowdle said there's more he can do, more explosive runs, more polish as a receiver.

"I really don't think I played my best football yet, honestly," Dowdle said. "So that's one thing I will say, I don't think I've been able to expand my game and show what all I really can do. I have had some good games, but I don't think I've played my best game yet.

"Definitely got to continue to keep building, and I feel like I have proven myself enough to get a chance. I think I've proven myself in that aspect, but I definitely know it's more out there on the table."