The Carolina Panthers overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 on Sunday, matching the largest comeback in franchise history. This achievement equals three previous occasions when the team rallied from a similar margin, most recently against Philadelphia in 2018.
Defensive end A’Shawn Robinson served as the rotating captain for the game, joining permanent captains Derrick Brown, JJ Jansen, and Bryce Young.
Running back Rico Dowdle had a career-best performance with 206 rushing yards on 23 carries and one touchdown. Dowdle’s total was only four yards short of DeAngelo Williams’ franchise record of 210 rushing yards set in 2012. It was also his first time surpassing 200 rushing yards in a game and marked only the fifth triple-digit rushing effort of his NFL career. Dowdle contributed a season-long run of 53 yards and finished with 234 scrimmage yards after adding three catches for 28 receiving yards. According to Next Gen Stats, he generated +105 rushing yards over expected and gained 171 of his rushing yards on runs to the right side—an NFL high since Week 17 of the 2020 season.
Quarterback Bryce Young completed 19-of-30 passes for 198 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He connected with ten different receivers during the game. With less than two minutes remaining, Young threw a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mitchell Evans to secure the win. The drive covered eight plays for 83 yards.
Young’s passing outside the numbers was particularly effective; according to Next Gen Stats, he completed eleven out of sixteen attempts for 141 yards and a touchdown when targeting those areas.
Rookie wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr., playing in his first NFL game after being inactive through Week Four, caught two passes for twenty-one yards—including his first career reception—and rushed twice for ten yards. Tetairoa McMillan led all Panthers receivers with six catches for seventy-three yards and has now recorded at least sixty receiving yards in four out of five games this season.
The Panthers defense limited Miami to just nineteen rushing yards—the second-lowest total allowed in team history—and held them to an average gain of only 1.36 yards per rush attempt. The defensive line registered three sacks on Sunday: one each by Derrick Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, and Patrick Jones II. Linebacker Nic Scourton posted a career-high four tackles including one tackle-for-loss.
Carolina benefited from six first downs by penalty during Sunday’s contest, tying their second-highest single-game mark in that category as previously accomplished seven times—the last occurrence coming against Houston in October last year. The team currently holds a +12 penalty differential this season, which is second-best in the league.
Several players saw increased or altered roles due to injuries or strategic rotations. Christian Rozeboom led all tacklers despite playing only sixty-nine percent of snaps while rookie safety Lathan Ransom played sixty-five percent as part of various nickel packages. Practice squad call-up Krys Barnes replaced Claudin Cherelus’s usual workload at linebacker with seventy-nine percent snap participation.
Nick Samac and Jake Curhan both made their debut appearances for Carolina on field goal and extra point duties.
