Midway through the second quarter Sunday, with the Carolina Panthers still with a long way to go to earn their upset over the Green Bay Packers, Rico Dowdle did something that caught everyone’s attention.
The “something” wasn’t Dowdle’s 29-yard run down the right sideline, though that turned heads. It wasn’t even the scare thereafter, when he got up with a slight limp, clearly in pain, and trudged off the field.
It was what he did a few minutes later:
Coming back in the game — and finishing it.
“It’s a tough game,” said tight end Tommy Tremble when asked about Dowdle. “I know that to be in a position where you’re not the feeling the best — a lot of guys feel that — but for him to do that and continue playing as well as he has for us, it was something that really stuck out to us.
“And seeing him just put everything on the line and to have success in that game, it was awesome. I’m happy it ended up not being too bad, and he was able to finish the game for us and everything. I’m really proud of him for that.”
Carolina’s Rico Dowdle runs the ball in Sunday’s second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Patrick McDermott Getty Images
Dowdle finished Sunday’s game with authority. He notched both rushing scores and a big chunk of his 130-yard, two-touchdown day after that carry — including the 19-yard run at the end that put the Panthers in game-winning field goal position.
Such perseverance isn’t unique to Dowdle in the Panthers’ locker room. On Sunday alone such toughness was shown by offensive lineman Damien Lewis, who exited the game and re-entered it; there was also receiver Xavier Legette, who was cleared for a concussion after taking a gnarly hit after a reception that saw him linger on the Lambeau tundra.
Quarterback Andy Dalton played through most of the Panthers’ Week 8 contest against the Buffalo Bills with a broken thumb he sustained after his first throw. Starting QB Bryce Young, who returned from an ankle injury against the Packers, told reporters last week that everyone in this league is working through something, playing through some sort of ailment.
But Dowdle doing so Sunday — while maintaining his violent running style and putting the game on ice for the Panthers — was something that couldn’t be overlooked.
“We’ll give injury updates and all that on Wednesday,” Canales said Monday about Dowdle. Wednesday is the team’s first practice each week and also when the injury report is due. “But he was able to finish all the way through the end of the game, was working through some things. And just really proud anytime the guys are able to go back in there.
“Damien Lewis missed a little bit of time, came back in, finished. Just a couple of different guys that had to work something out, sort something out, and say, ‘This team, this game, this moment is too important to me. I’m going to be back out there for my guys and make that happen.’”
Bryce Young and Rico Dowdle (5) of the Carolina Panthers celebrate a touchdown in Sunday’s second quarter against the Green Bay Packers. Patrick McDermott Getty Images
As of the Monday morning after a bulk of Week 9 games, Dowdle is fourth in the league in rushing yards (735), third in yards per carry (5.6), seventh in rushing attempts (131) and tied for fourth in first downs (35).
When asked, starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu admitted that “it’s hard to find something new” to say about Dowdle considering the season he’s had to date. Ekwonu rehashed the mentality Dowdle runs with — how “you could tell the way he runs” that he’s constantly “trying to put the ball in the end zone.”
But he added something different, as well. He focused on Dowdle’s determination to finish games, a trait the rest of the team possesses, Ekwonu said.
“It’s definitely nice to see guys fighting for us and everything,” Ekwonu said. “It just goes to the dedication that we have to each other as players, to be out there. You know, ‘If we can go, we want to be out there fighting for our brothers.’”
Rico Dowdle of the Carolina Panthers is tackled by Edgerrin Cooper of the Green Bay Packers during Sunday’s third quarter. John Fisher Getty Images
Here’s what else you need to know from Monday’s availability.
Chandler Zavala injured again
The Carolina Panthers only had one player leave Sunday’s contest and not return to the Green Bay field. The bad news? It’s someone who has already dealt with a ton of injury this season.
Chandler Zavala left the first half of the game Sunday with an elbow injury and did not return to the field. The news marks the latest injury-related obstacle for the interior offensive lineman, who just came off of the injured reserve this past week after sustaining a knee injury Week 4.
His departure led to the emergence of Jake Curhan, who had a great day in the Panthers’ win and earned a postgame locker room shout-out from Canales. But Zavala’s condition also indicates that the Panthers might be tasked with assembling their eighth different combination of starting offensive linemen in 10 weeks when they face the New Orleans Saints at home this weekend. Interior linemen Brady Christensen (Achilles) and Robert Hunt (biceps) remain on injured reserve, starting center Cade Mays missed Sunday entirely (ankle) and starting right tackle Taylor Moton was limited to just three snaps as the team tries to work him back from a knee injury.
Canales said that more will be divulged about Zavala’s injury on Wednesday. But the injury impacted the locker room nonetheless.
“Chandler’s definitely a top competitor,” said Ekwonu, who was college teammates for a season with Zavala at N.C. State. “He definitely has that dawg in him. Definitely a player who wants to be out there for us and for the team. He’s gotten unlucky in a couple instances, but I know he’s going to do everything he can to fight back and get back out on the field for us.”
Ryan Fitzgerald (10) of the Carolina Panthers celebrates with teammates after kicking the game-winning field goal during Sunday’s fourth quarter at Lambeau Field. John Fisher Getty Images
Quick hits
— The Carolina Panthers earned their first “Victory Monday” of the season, meaning that they did not have any meetings in the facility. Tommy Tremble said he was helping friends move out of their apartments and into new ones Monday. Canales said he gave them the off day after getting the idea from their leadership council meeting last week: “I think it’s important with this stretch. As we’ve talked about, we’re every Sunday, 1 o’clock, for a lot of weeks in a row. Just wanting to try to give a little bit of physical space obviously for recovery, but then there’s a mental, emotional and spiritual part to just reconnect with yourself, reconnect with your family after you get your work done here. And then we can regroup and take the next step.”
— The Panthers’ offensive line, and in particular Ekwonu, had a day to remember. The big stat: Green Bay Packers star pass rusher Micah Parsons was held without a quarterback pressure for the first game in his career. He faced a double-team on 28.6% of his pass rushes (6 of 21), according to the team. Ekwonu did not allow a pressure in 13 matchups with Parsons including nine one-on-one situations. Ekwonu on his performance against Parsons: “I think it just comes down to preparation. Also the game plan we had set up, the way we wanted to attack their defense, I feel like it all came to fruition.”
— Carolina’s defense had its best performance to date. That was fueled by some career individual performances, too. Defensive tackle Turk Wharton finished with a career-high seven tackles and one sack, his second sack of the season. Meanwhile, linebacker Christian Rozeboom notched a forced fumble and a career-high 15 tackles. Rozeboom also had 12 tackles against the Bills last week; he’s now the first Panthers linebacker since Luke Kuechly in 2016 to post back-to-back games of 12-plus tackles.
— Quarterback Bryce Young engineered his ninth game-winning drive since his rookie season in 2023 against the Packers. That’s tied for the most in that 2.5-season span with Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Geno Smith. When asked what makes Young so good in those moments, Canales in part said that his quarterback “knows he belongs” in those moments.
— Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald is the first Carolina kicker with multiple game-winning field goals since Eddy Piñeiro in 2023 (two) and the first NFL rookie with multiple game-winning field goals since Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson (four in 2021).