Carolina Panthers’ Dowdle hits major milestone in win vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rico Dowdle reached a notable milestone in his 15th game with the Panthers.
Dowdle, who is having a breakout campaign, surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The veteran running back took a handoff from quarterback Bryce Young in the second quarter and picked up three yards on the tote. The play gave Dowdle 23 rushing yards on the day, putting him one yard past the 1,000-yard mark for the year.
He finished the game with 29 rushing yards on nine carries in the 23-20 win. Dowdle now has 1,007 rushing yards on the season.
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Dowdle, who played at A.C. Reynolds High in Asheville, came into the Week 16 matchup with 978 rushing yards on the year. He needed just 22 rushing yards to hit four digits on the campaign.
This is Dowdle’s second consecutive 1,000-yard season. He previously ran for 1,079 rushing yards last year during his final season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Dowdle signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal — with $3.5 million in available incentives — with the Panthers in March. The former South Carolina Gamecocks running back was added to be the primary backup to Chuba Hubbard.
A lingering calf injury mitigated Hubbard’s production during the first half of the season. Meanwhile, Dowdle broke out with explosive performances in wins against the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and Green Bay Packers in the middle of the season.
In Week 10, head coach Dave Canales made the decision to switch up the lineup with Dowdle starting over Hubbard. While Dowdle’s performance has waned a bit down the stretch, he’s still been effective in the second half of the season.
Dowdle needs just 73 rushing yards over the Panthers’ next two games to surpass his previous single-season high with Dallas.
He is set to become a free agent in March.
This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 2:21 PM.
