Rico Dowdle set to shine, 4 other things to know about Dolphins vs. Panthers

Talk about a Jekyll and Hyde team? The Carolina Panthers dropped their first two games this season, which has been the case now four consecutive years. Dave Canales’ club then opened some eyes by pitching the team’s first shutout since 2020, a convincing 30-0 victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Charlotte.

With an opportunity to even their record this season last week at New England, Carolina took an early 6-0 over Mike Vrabel’s team thanks to a Bryce Young TD pass to tight end Tommy Tremble. Canales’s team then watched the Patriots score 42 consecutive points in what proved to be a 42-13 loss. Hence, the Panthers went from 30-point winners to 29-point losers in the span of eight days.

The team now has back-to-back home games, the first on Sunday against the 1-3 Miami Dolphins. Mike McDaniel’s club comes off its first win of the season, a 27-21 Monday night triumph over the New York Jets. The Dolphins did suffer a huge loss in that victory as star wideout Tyreek Hill was lost for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

So which version of the Panthers shows up on Sunday?

History

These two franchises have only met eight times during the regular season, and did not square off for the first time until the Panthers’ fourth season in the league in 1998. The Dolphins have prevailed in six of the eight encounters, the most recent a 42-21 win two years ago in South Florida. However, one of Carolina’s two wins in the series came in 2017, a convincing 45-21 triumph in the Dolphins’ last appearance in Charlotte.

What’s in a Number(s)?

Dolphins: Miami’s defense has been a big disappointment in many ways, and it took the Dolphins four games to finally come up with a takeaway—recovering three Jets’ fumble in last Monday’s win. The ‘Fins are one of three teams in the league, along with the Jets and 49ers, not to intercept a pass this season.