Rico Dowdle backed up another bold warning in Week 6, making the talk regarding an upcoming decision grow even louder
Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales will have a tough decision when it comes to the RB split.
Rico Dowdle has been on a tear for the Carolina Panthers over the last two weeks starting in place of an injured Chuba Hubbard, like a rare company kind of tear.
In that span, Dowdle totaled 225+ scrimmage yards and a touchdown in each game, becoming the sixth running back in the Super Bowl Era to accomplish such a feat in consecutive games.
Usually, players let their play speak for itself, but Dowdle’s been throwing out bold warnings ahead of each week AND backing it up on the field too. It’s something you love to see from a player like that in his situation, but his play over the last two weeks only make the talk about an upcoming decision even louder.
How will the split in the Panthers’ backfield look once Chuba Hubbard returns?
This seems to be the question on everyone’s mind and it’s a valid question to explore even further going into Week 7, because Hubbard should hopefully be back in the fold.
Some personal accountability here, two weeks ago I wrote an article about how the Panthers should lean more into a one-back system with Hubbard getting fed more and sparingly use Dowdle because of the style back Hubbard is and the effectiveness of the running game through four games.
That by no means was a knock on Dowdle’s ability to run the ball or be a factor for this offense, as we’ve known seen. It was more so a belief that with more carries, the better Hubbard plays. And the same goes for Dowdle, considering he carried the ball 23 and 30 times the last two weeks after having 28 carries in the first four weeks combined.
It’s clear the one-back system fits both players a lot more than the two-back system did during the first four weeks, so how should the Panthers handle this once Hubbard is back and healthy?
“That’s a great question,” Canales said after the game. “We’re going to figure that part out, but I know Rico is doing a great job and he will be a part of what we’re doing.”
It’s true. Dowdle is the hot hand and it’s hard to ignore the production he’s had the last two games despite the fact that Hubbard is the team’s true starter with the higher price tag on his contract. But, it’s also fair to point out that Dowdle’s production came against the 30th and 23rd ranked defenses in rushing yards per game allowed entering that week.
My prediction, the workload looks closer to a 50/50 split than it was earlier in the season, with Dowdle potentially getting more snaps as Hubbard works his way back onto the field. We’ll see what the production looks like from that share and how the team will continue to evaluate the position.
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