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The Athletic's Joe Person came away from Panthers HC Dave Canales' Monday press conference believing that it "seems pretty clear Dave Canales is going to give Rico Dowdle the lion's share of carries." Canales said that he wanted to give RB Chuba Hubbard an opportunity coming back from his calf injury, per Person, but that "we cannot ignore the fact that Rico has been exceptional."
Dowdle and Hubbard have essentially rotated series over the last two weeks. But Dowdle has clearly been the more effective back. He's turned 26 touches into 150 yards, while Hubbard has produced 89 yards on 28 touches.
And it hasn't been a case of Dowdle getting better blocking. He's also beaten Hubbard in advanced metrics. The numbers over the last two games:
| Dowdle | hubbard | |
| Yards After Contact Per Carry | 3.52 | 1.96 |
| Missed Tackles Forced Per Carry | 0.20 | 0.19 |
| Pro Football Focus Rushing Grade | 69.4 | 62.9 |
We'll see exactly what the backfield split looks like in Week 9. The Panthers are in a brutal spot as 12.5-point road underdogs against the Packers' third-ranked RB defense.
Hubbard should be parked on fantasy benches for that one, while Dowdle can be treated as a RB3 with upside beyond that if Carolina puts him back in a feature role.
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