ATLANTA — Rico Dowdle surpassed 1,000 yards from scrimmage on Sunday, only the second time in his five-year career he's done so.

But Rico Dowdle wants to talk about his shoes.

"I'll be in white cleats the rest of the year," smirked Dowdle, following the Panthers' 30-27 overtime win against the Falcons on Sunday.

Makes sense, considering non-white cleats cost the running back a touchdown. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Dowdle, who has become one of the Panthers' biggest free agent signing this past offseason, finished with 100 yards from scrimmage (45 on the ground and 55 receiving). Coming into the day, the veteran back had 930 yards from scrimmage through 10 games. He needed 70 yards to meet the marker.

The play on which he surpassed it came in the fourth quarter. The Panthers were driving with 1:29 to play, trailing 24-19. From the Falcons' 38-yard line, quarterback Bryce Young flipped the ball out to Dowdle. From 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage, Dowdle turned upfield and floored the gas, taking off behind a block and getting to the left boundary.

He had to make a quick decision on which way to cut when Jessie Bates III came over to knock him out of bounds. After a quick acceleration, it seemed Dowdle had broken free to run in for the 38-yard touchdown.

But all scoring plays are reviewed under two minutes, and there was a question as to whether or not Dowdle had stepped out of bounds around the 10-yard line when he jumped to avoid Bates. After review, he was ruled out of bounds.

It was close. So close that the difference ended up being the gray color of the back half of the shoe on his two-color cleat.

"If he had white cleats on, it might be a touchdown, so it was really close," joked coach Dave Canales. "They had to really look at it for a while there, but he gave us a chance to go right there in the red zone and battle on the next couple of plays.

"They had a pressure look, and Rico executed it perfectly and made it look like protection and got down the field."

It was the chance, to Canales' point, that made the difference. Even after being ruled out of bounds, it was still a 28-yard gain, enough to go over the 1,000-yard mark and get the Panthers' offense into the red zone. Three players later, Young hit Tetairoa McMillan in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. After converting a 2-point conversion, Carolina took a lead with just over a minute remaining.

The screen play was one Dowdle has been asking to have put in for weeks now, Canales shared. On Sunday, the right situation arose.

"Just the offense in general, just got to give props to Bryce for checking it down to me, getting it to me, and letting me go," said Dowdle of his quarterback.

It was his insistence and willingness to be a part of the game plan in whatever way that helped Dowdle reach the 1,000-yard mark for only the second time in his career, and has helped the Panthers' offense come alive. After weeks of running over teams left, right, and up the middle, defenses have started stacking the box, trying to shut down one of the league's top 5 rushers.

Last week against the Saints, the Panthers weren't ready to adapt. This week, against the league's No. 1 passing defense, Carolina adjusted. If Atlanta was determined to stop Rico Dowdle, they would just throw it to nine different receivers as Young set a franchise record with 446 passing yards.

Dowdle was a big part of that, with more receiving yards than on the ground. Now, he's hoping the performance overall will keep defenses honest, back them up again from the line of scrimmage, and subsequently open up rushing lanes.

"When the run game is working well, teams come in and it opens up the pass game, and today we were able to take advantage and make the most of it," said Dowdle. "And now, what we did in the pass game, now they've got to respect that, and they also have to respect the run game. So it's offense all over. They got to play both, and I think it'll show in the upcoming weeks.

"I know we had a tough day in the run game and a great day in the pass game. So it's great. So now teams have to respect both, and it's going to be great for us."

Dowdle knew during the week that the 1,000-yard mark was in sight, but he had no idea when he broke it during the game, or even that he had at all. That is an achievement to worry about later. All that mattered was being able to bounce back just a week after getting relatively shut down (63 scrimmage yards against the Saints) and once again become a catalyst for a Panthers' win.

"I don't really make goals. I just said I could be better than I was the year before and keep improving each week, honestly," admitted Dowdle.

He did that on Sunday. Even if it wasn't a huge stat day for Dowdle himself, it was a day during which he did what needed to be done, just as he has all season.

"The spark, the attitude, the violence," said Canales of his running back's impact on this season, "all those things that really just enlivens the group."

Added tight end Tommy Tremble, "He's a playmaker and so seeing him go out there, get it out, make plays when he can, it's awesome because as a whole team you got to contribute, and he's contributing a good amount, and it's fun seeing him make plays like that, man."