Rico Dowdle accurately dubbed big loser from Wild Card Weekend

On Saturday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium, the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers gave it their all against the talented and favored Los Angeles Rams. Dave Canales’s team owned the lead in the fourth quarter on two occasions, taking a 31-27 lead with 2:39 to play thanks for a Jalen Coker TD grab via Bryce Young.

When it was all said and done, Matthew Stafford and Colby Parkinson had the last laugh in the Rams’ 34-31 victory.

It proved to be a disappointing loss but an encouraging season for a team that had not been to the playoffs since 2017.

Not everything coming out of the game was positive. Arguably the team’s best offensive free-agent addition this offseason by Panthers’ general manager Dan Morgan closed out 2025 with a whimper and not a bang.

Bleacher Report NFL writers Brent Sobleski and Kristopher Knox took stock of the five first-round playoff games played so far, choosing winners and losers, and selecting a takeaway for each club. Running back Rico Dowdle, who rushed for 1,076 yards and six touchdowns, was designated the game’s “loser” by the duo.

“The Panthers played their best football when Rico Dowdle became the offensive focal point. His role has diminished over the last month of the regular season and bottomed out during the Wild Card contest. Dowdle’s nine rushing yards tied for a season low. He ran for 10 yards a week earlier against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, the 1,000-yard rusher took a back seat Saturday to Chuba Hubbard, who scored a pair of touchdowns.”