The Carolina Panthers are dealing with issues that only teams with elite rushing attacks have had to tackle.
Because of Rico Dowdle‘s recent production and Chuba Hubbard‘s impending return Sunday, the Panthers want to find ways to use both running backs in the most effective manner.
The Panthers recently have spent time studying and inquiring about how other teams with productive running back tandems have juggled the workload between two backs, league sources told ESPN.
The Panthers looked at how the Lions have worked with their talented tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomeryand how the Seahawks did it with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet when Carolina head coach Dave Canales worked in Seattle.
There have been a slew of other two-player backfields that the Panthers have studied to help figure out the best way to deploy Dowdle and Hubbard.
The Panthers’ current plan is to use both Dowdle and Hubbard, who will return Sunday against the Jets after missing the past two games with a calf injury. Canales declined to say last week which back would start or be featured Sunday as the Panthers seek their third straight win.
Carolina is looking to ascertain how to rotate Dowdle and Hubbard properly. The Panthers know there’s no magic formula, but they also know they need to understand the runners and the formations they preferf. Carolina also needs both backs to buy in to their rotation, with the understanding that it’s for the betterment of the team.
A good part of the reason why Carolina finds itself in this spot is Dowdle, who has performed like an All-Pro over the past two weeks. He rushed for 208 yards, added 28 receiving yards and scored a touchdown during a Week 5 win over the Dolphins. He followed that up with 183 rushing yards, a team-high 56 receiving yards and another touchdown against his former team in Carolina’s Week 6 walk-off win over the Cowboys.
Dowdle’s 473 yards from scrimmage set a Panthers two-game franchise record.
Hubbard carries no injury designation into Sunday’s game and is expected to play. Before being sidelined in Week 4, Hubbard ran for 217 yards over his first four games of the season.
“We’re both very talented players,” Hubbard said. “I can’t say what it’s going to look like exactly or how it’s going to be. I’m not the coach. But obviously, two great backs. Anytime you can put us on the field, let’s do it.”
Canales hasn’t said who is going to start against the Jets, but he made it clear Dowdle will have a chance to have a big impact as the Panthers (3-3) look to earn their first road win this season.
“I think [Dowdle] has earned everything that he’s done in the last two weeks,” Canales said. “He’s earned the right to help this team, and he will. We’ll find a way to do that. How we do that specifically, I don’t want to really share those details of it.”
Dowdle shrugged off talk of who’ll be the primary ball carrier.
“It’s all up to the coaches about what goes on,” Dowdle said. “Obviously Chuba’s been here and he’s got his contract and things like that, and it’s been his team from the jump, so you got to just take all that into account for sure.”
ESPN’s David Newton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
