What impressed Carolina's coach about his players in their win against Miami? By Scott Fowler
The Carolina Panthers were doing it again — frustrating their fans, turning the ball over, acting like they had never seen a football before.
After 20 minutes in the Panthers’ game at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, Miami led, 17-0. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had turned the ball over twice — one on an atrocious fumble, one on an airmailed interception. The thousands of Dolphins fans who had infiltrated the stadium were loud; some Panthers fans were already wondering how bad the score needed to be before they left.
And then, in a bizarrely beautiful way, the Panthers started climbing back into the game. By halftime, it was 17-10. By the end of the third quarter, it was 17-13. And by the end of the game, Carolina had tied the largest comeback in franchise history and upset the Dolphins, 27-24.
“The ones who stayed,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said, “got to see an amazing show.”
Carolina Panthers tight end Mitchell Evans, center, spikes the football after catching a pass for a touchdown during Sunday’s fourth quarter action against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Dolphins, 27-24. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
It was an entertaining win for the Panthers (2-3), who scored two touchdowns in the game’s final 6:10 to chase down the Dolphins (1-4). It was also a significant one — the sort of win that occasionally turns around an entire season, if it instills the confidence that it should.
In the recent past, a Panthers team that fell down by 17 points was either going to lose very big (most of the time) or nearly make a comeback but fall short (see: Arizona game in Week 2).
Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane, left, leaps to catch a pass in the end zone as Carolina Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace, right, applies pressure during Sunday’s action at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers fell behind 17-0 in the second quarter before rallying. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
This comeback, though, was completed with a flourish, as Young turned his afternoon completely around and all sorts of unlikely first- and second-year offensive players made huge plays: Xavier Legette (a TD), Jimmy Horn Jr. (a fourth-down catch) and Mitchell Evans (the game-winning touchdown) among them.
The biggest headliner, though, was Rico Dowdle, Carolina’s backup tailback with all the Carolinas connections who became the No. 1 running back on this day due to Chuba Hubbard’s calf injury that sidelined him for the entire game.
There was no Dowdle about it: the running back was magnificent.
Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales, left hugs running back Rico Dowdle, right, following the team's 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. Dowdle rushed for 206 yards, tied for the second-highest rushing yardage total in team history. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Dowdle rushed for 206 yards on 23 carries — tied for the second-most rushing yards in Carolina history, behind only DeAngelo Williams’ 210 in a 2012 game. And Dowdle would have set the franchise record for sure had he not had to down five containers of pickle juice on the sideline to counteract the frequent cramping he was suffering in the fourth quarter.
Dowdle scored from a yard out to give Carolina a 20-17 lead, crowd-surfing the last few inches on his back. But Miami immediately returned the favor, as Jaylen Waddle got loose behind Carolina’s secondary for a 46-yard touchdown pass.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young throws a pass during the game against the Dolphins on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. Young led two touchdown drives in the final 6:10 of the game. Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com
That meant Carolina had to score a touchdown again, down 24-20, and starting at the Panthers’ own 17. But there the Panthers went: Dowdle for 16 yards, and then Legette on a pretty pass for 24, and soon Horn converting a fourth-and-5 for 17 more. All of it led to Young throwing a play-action pass to Evans from the 4.
Evans, the rookie from Notre Dame, caught the ball, got submarined and basically somersaulted into the end zone.
Evans then spiked the ball so hard it would have made Rob Gronkowski proud.
“Really?” Evans said when I told him his spike went 10 rows into the stands. “I kinda blacked out.”
Carolina Panthers tight end Mitchell Evans, right, flexes as he celebrates his touchdown pass reception with his teammates during fourth-quarter action against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Dolphins, 27-24. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
The win still wasn’t complete, but then the defense did its part with a big third-down sack from Pat Jones. Rather than going for it, Miami decided to punt on fourth-and-17 from its own 15 with 1:10 left and three timeouts.
Needing one first down to seal the game, the Panthers and Canales correctly took one last risk, letting Young throw on third down instead of conservatively running the ball into the line to use up Miami’s final timeout. Win or lose, I loved that call. Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow drew a pass interference penalty on the play, and that was that.
Now Miami isn’t a good team, and Carolina will have to play better than this to beat, say, Dallas at home in a week.
But this was the sort of game that provides a fan base with hope — and a locker room, too. The Panthers have come back from 17 points down to win three different times in their history before Sunday. The most notable: The 2003 season opener against Jacksonville, when Jake Delhomme was inserted at halftime, leading both a comeback and, eventually, a team that made Carolina’s first Super Bowl.
The 2025 version of the Panthers doesn’t have the talent to make the Super Bowl. No chance. But they do have enough talent to make life interesting, if they just don’t disintegrate like they did the week before (a 42-13 embarrassment of a loss at New England).
For Sunday, at least, Panthers fans who stuck with the game had two excellent options.
Carolina Panthers tight end Mitchell Evans, right, celebrates his touchdown pass reception with team personnel during Sunday’s fourth-quarter action against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Dolphins, 27-24. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
In person, it was great. On TV, it was great too, thanks to the local flavor provided by Charlotte Hornets announcer Eric Collins, who moonlighted by calling the first NFL game of his career for Fox Sports. Although I was at the game in person, I kept the broadcast on to listen to Collins, who seamlessly worked in mentions of the Gaffney peach water tower and the Charlotte 49ers while immediately outperforming at least half of all the NFL play-by-play guys working today. Collins deserves another chance at doing this stuff.
And after Sunday, the Panthers do, too. At 17-0, this felt like a team that a lot of people were about to give up on. But then they won and looked again — at least for a week — like a team very much worth watching.