Dave Canales and Panthers have figured out who they are when it matters most and it can secure a playoff spot
The Panthers leaned back into the run game in Week 13 and it helped them upset the Rams. Now, it can help them get back to the playoffs.
For the majority of the 2025 season, the Carolina Panthers have been eager to find an identity as a football team and begin its ascent out of the NFL depths.
As the season progressed, it became clear the Panthers’ offensive identity was centered around a physical brand of football that backs up a strong run game. The Panthers started to finally stack some wins against quality opponents thanks to that style – but opponents started catching on.
From Weeks 10-12, teams started challenging the Panthers to become more balanced as an offense and in two of those games, head coach Dave Canales fell into the trap. He abandoned the spark that made Bryce Young and Co. go, but on Sunday and in the biggest game of the year, the Panthers went back to the well and it became the catalyst behind one of the year’s most surprising upsets.
Dave Canales leaned back into the run game, with a slight but meaningful change
A week after calling just nine run carries from the running back position, Canales leaned heavily back into the identity of this Panthers offense on Sunday and the elements played a role in that as well. Overall, Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle combined for 39 touches and 203 total yards, powering the Panthers’ offense toward a win over the Rams.
“It’s just fresh legs when they go out there,” Canales said after the win. “Whether it’s a run or a pass, just get the ball into Rico and Chuba’s hands and let them affect the game because of who they are, because of the aggressive style that they play with.
“And so, it’s a dream to be able to have two guys that you can count on, and I can call anything that I have on the call sheet and, and trust that it’s gonna get executed.”
It’s not just the identity of this offense, it’s been the winning formula for the Panthers as well, and now the offense is learning how to combine the strong run game with the deep shots in the passing game to really hurt opposing defenses.
But, the stats with the run game speak for itself. When the Panthers rush for 120+ yards the team is 5-1 this season and 2-5 when they don’t. It helps now having a fully healthy Chuba Hubbard who can play the way he did on Sunday while also rotating him in and out with Rico Dowdle.
“To win it takes a lot of selflessness and winning teams across the league have shown it,” Hubbard said. “Obviously that’s what we’ve been trying to build here so success comes in many different ways and there’s different ways to win this game and everyone on our team can contribute to that.”
Getting back into the running groove was key for this Panthers offense going into this game. The Rams offense was humming at the right time and if Carolina wanted to win this game, it had to be won in a shootout. It was great to see the Panthers execute that while keeping the ground attack rolling for all 60 minutes.
“Especially coming off last week,” Dowdle said. “Feeling like we could have had a great game last week, but coming in against a great team and us being able to contribute to getting back out there, just making big plays and having that explosive touchdown, it definitely means a lot.”
Panthers will need to keep that identity in the forefront during the final stretch
With how the NFC is shaping up going into Week 14, the Panthers have no margin for error. Two of the team’s final four games will be played at home, where Carolina holds a 4-2 record. Playing in the elements can help Carolina keep the run game flowing.
The other two games will be played at New Orleans and at Tampa Bay, two critical division games that the Panthers will need to pull off if the team wants any shot at the playoffs.
Sunday was a great team win by the Panthers and it showed a lot of encouragement that this offense is fully capable hanging with the top dogs in the conference heading into those final four games.
“We needed that kind of challenge so that our guys could rise to the occasion, make plays,” Canales added. “Have a more balanced attack and be able to play the type of offensive football we know we’re capable of.”
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