Former South Carolina star again makes history in NFL

Last week, South Carolina football alum Rico Dowdle was the top performer across the NFL, logging over 200 yards rushing. For his efforts, he earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. As an encore, he eclipsed 200 yards from scrimmage again on Sunday.

In a win over his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, Dowdle rushed for 183 yards and tallied 56 yards receiving. He added a receiving touchdown, as well. According to ESPN’s research team, the former Gamecock made some NFL history.

Despite entering the 2025 season as the Panthers’ backup, Dowdle has become the first player to log 230 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back games since Le’Veon Bell did so in 2014 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also broke an all-time Carolina record, becoming the first Panther to reach 200 yards in back-to-back games.

The Panthers are 2-0 in Dowdle’s two starts.

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Making Sunday’s performance that much sweeter for Dowdle was the fact that he had such a good showing against his former team, one that elected to let him walk in free agency. He had spent five seasons in Big D after signing with the franchise as a free agent in 2020.

The sixth-year running back told the Cowboys (via the media) that they needed to “buckle up” for what he had in store for them. Dowdle backed up the trash talk and added an extra jab following the final whistle. “They wasn’t buckled up,” he said after the game.

Dowdle’s strong play makes things interesting for the Panthers. Starting running back Chuba Hubbard rushed for nearly 1200 yards in 2024. However, Dowdle has been too good to keep off the field. When Hubbard returns, potentially as soon as next week, Carolina could have one of the best 1-2 combinations at running back in the NFL.

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