Former South Carolina football star Rico Dowdle delivered the best performance of his NFL career on Sunday, powering the Carolina Panthers to a thrilling 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Dowdle, who entered the game as the backup running back, got the start with Chuba Hubbard sidelined by injury—and he made the most of his opportunity. After totaling just 83 rushing yards over the first four games of the season, the ex-Gamecock exploded for 206 rushing yards and added 28 receiving yards, finishing with 234 total yards from scrimmage — the most by any player in the NFL this season.
The breakout performance also included a fourth-quarter touchdown that helped seal the Panthers’ second win of the year. Dowdle wasn’t the only former Gamecock making noise, either — Xavier Legette caught an eight-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give Carolina an early lead.
Ironically, Dowdle’s previous career-high came against the Panthers last season. Then a member of the Dallas Cowboys, he ran for 149 yards in a December win at Bank of America Stadium. With Sunday’s effort, both of his best NFL outings have now come in Charlotte’s Queen City — just in different uniforms.
Dowdle is coming off a 1,000-yard season with Dallas, his first year handling a full workload at the professional level. Now in his sixth NFL season, and his first outside of Dallas, he’s proving he can be a feature back when given the chance.
It’s been a long road for Dowdle, who went undrafted in 2020 after a college career at South Carolina marked by both potential and perseverance. Despite battling injuries and deep backfield rotations, he still managed to finish 15th on the Gamecocks’ all-time rushing list, leading the team in rushing in 2016 (when he earned Freshman All-SEC honors) and again in 2018. He also recorded one of just 13 200-yard rushing games in South Carolina program history.
On Sunday, in front of a Charlotte crowd that’s twice witnessed his brilliance, Rico Dowdle reminded everyone of the talent that’s been there all along — and made his case as one of the NFL’s most underrated running backs.
