By Joseph Person, Ken Bradley and Ric Sanchez
Staring down an early 17-point deficit, quarterback Bryce Young, running back Rico Dowdle and the Carolina defense willed the Panthers to a 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins that came down to the wire on Sunday in Charlotte.
Panthers coach Dave Canales credited his team’s focus on running the ball and stopping the Dolphins from doing the same.
“It’s about the run game,” Canales said. “We got our run game going great today. Defensively, we did a great job against the run.”
Dowdle finished with 206 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown. His longest run was 53 yards.
“It’s the attitude that he ran with, the violence that he ran with, finishing through arm tackles — something that we’ve been challenging our guys on. When we get you to the second level, have a plan for how you finish. And I saw great finish today out of Rico.”
Bryce Young didn’t panic
It looked like the Panthers were headed for another long day after Young had turnovers on the first two offensive possessions. But after the Panthers dug themselves a 17-0 hole, they started climbing out of it by getting defensive stops and handing the ball to Dowdle. And when Young hit rookie tight end Mitchell Evans for a 4-yard TD pass with 1:59 left and the defense held one last time, the Panthers had the win — and had tied their franchise record for biggest comeback.
Young overcame the early turnovers to throw for 198 yards and two TDs, while Dowdle and the defense did the rest. — Joseph Person, Panthers senior writer
Rico Dowdle’s Panthers breakout
Dowdle showed Panthers fans why Carolina signed him in the offseason — and perhaps why Dallas should have re-signed him. Starting in place of an injured Chuba Hubbard, the North Carolina native became just the third back to eclipse the 200-yard rushing mark in Panthers’ history.
Dowdle’s 206 yards on 23 carries tied Jonathan Stewart for second most, behind only DeAngelo Williams (210). Dowdle might have had more, but he left the game on the Panthers’ penultimate offensive series with cramps. Hubbard is day-to-day with a calf injury, but Dowdle seized the day Sunday. — Person
Jaylen Waddle stepped up for Miami
With Tyreek Hill out for the season, the Dolphins really needed the Tua Tagovailoa-to-Jaylen Waddle connection to reignite to have a chance Sunday against Carolina. For most of the game, Waddle was held in check. But when the Dolphins needed him most, he came through.
After the Dolphins had punted on five consecutive possessions and fallen behind for the first time of the game in the fourth quarter, Waddle got behind defensive back Mike Jackson for a 46-yard TD reception with 4:42 left in the game. The touchdown gave Miami a short-lived 24-20 lead. Waddle finished with six catches on nine targets for 110 yards. It was his first 100-yard game of the season. If the Dolphins are going to succeed the rest of the season, they’ll need more of this between Waddle and Tagovailoa. — Ken Bradley, NFL senior editor
(Photo of Mitchell Evans: Josh Lavallee / Getty Images)
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