Given how dysfunctional they have been, it's a remarkable feat that the Carolina Panthers have managed to win six games this season.
The more we get to know them as the year goes on, it's starting to seem like they won those games despite head coach Dave Canales, not because of him.
Canales has had issues all year - from not putting the right pieces in the lineup to consistently getting play-calls in late and too often dialing up vanilla plays you normally see in the preseason.
Canales made another big error this week when he only called for a handful of runs from star running back Rico Dowdle, who managed 38 yards on just six carries. At least Canales is admitting his mistake. Dowdle says Canales took ownership of not running enough in a team meeting.
Rico Dowdle says Dave Canales took ownership at a team meeting about not running the ball enough vs SF. Also spoke to Rico on the side about same. pic.twitter.com/TB1TurdpSc
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 26, 2025
It's nice that Canales is willing to admit to his mistakes after the fact, but that doesn't help the Panthers win football games.
With Dowdle idle in the backfield, the gameplan shifted to a heavy workload for Bryce Young, who was unable to repeat the magic that he seems to leave in Atlanta. Young managed just 169 passing yards - falling under 200 for the ninth time this season. He also threw just one touchdown to go with two interceptions - one of which was on the officials for missing an obvious hold.
You can only blame the refs for so much, though. The fact is that both Bryce Young and Dave Canales have consistently fallen short this year in their respective duties.
Unless they both turn it around and finish the final five games of the season on a tear, the front office has to at least consider moving on from both.
One guy who should stick around is Rico Dowdle, who will become a free agent in March. If the Panthers know what they're doing they will ignore the extension they gave Chuba Hubbard last year and won't hesitate to pay Dowdle and make him the centerpiece of their offense going forward.
Rico Dowdle
Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs with the ball in the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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