Copyright yardbarker
A lot went wrong for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, with the three game win streak coming to a screeching halt in blowout fashion against the Buffalo Bills in front of the home crowd.It was a wake up call for Carolina, who played without starting quarterback Bryce Young and struggled to do anything offensively with veteran backup Andy Dalton leading the unit.Yet, regardless of who's at quarterback, head coach Dave Canales made it a point during the week that the Panthers were expected to be a run-first offense, going into a game in which the opponent surrendered the second-most rushing yards per game this season. Even though it turned into a passing game real quick, a big takeaway is that the current plan for the backfield is a bad one. The Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard split needs to be seriously adjusted for the Panthers When starting running back Chuba Hubbard returned from a two-game absence in Week 7, the Panthers had an interesting decision to make. Because, during that two week absence, running back Rico Dowdle dominated for Carolina totaling 473 scrimmage yards and two scrimmage touchdowns as the team's starter.The emergence (or breakout) from Dowdle gave the Panthers a major spark, but the team still valued what Hubbard brings to the offense as well. So, when Hubbard returned, Canales looked around the league to see how other teams deploy a successful 2-RB system but instead went back to running the same rotation he unsuccessfully ran the first four games of the season. That split involved Hubbard getting the start, and then rotating each back out by offensive possession. The results, just like they were from Weeks 1-4, were frustrating. Just take a look at the week-by-week production in the games both backs played together. Week 1 - Hubbard: 16 carries for 57 yards, Dowdle: 3 carries for 12 yardsWeek 2 - Hubbard: 10 carries for 38 yards, Dowdle: 6 carries for 9 yardsWeek 3 - Hubbard: 17 carries for 73 yards, Dowdle: 10 carries for 31 yards and 1 TDWeek 4 - Hubbard: 10 carries for 49 yards, Dowdle: 9 carries for 32 yardsWeek 7 - Hubbard: 14 carries for 31 yards, Dowdle: 17 carries for 79 yardsWeek 8 - Hubbard: 12 carries for 34 yards and 1 TD, Dowdle: 8 carries for 54 yards
