By Cameron Lee
October 12, 2025
Photo: Erik Verduzco /AP
The Panthers won back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 9 and 10 last season against the Saints and Giants, and are now 3-0 at home. They’ve also reached a .500 winning percentage for the first time since Week 10 of 2021. More importantly, the team looks to be turning a corner, playing consistent football in all phases, as they beat the Cowboys 30-27 in another home thriller.
There’s no question that Asheville native Rico Dowdle has been a big part of the Panthers’ consecutive wins. He had another spectacular game, rushing for 183 yards on 30 carries (6.1 per) and adding five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown against his former team. His 239 scrimmage yards break Christian McCaffrey’s previous record of 237 yards (176 rushing, 61 receiving) set on October 6, 2019, against the Jaguars. The fifth-year running back, who went undrafted in 2020 out of South Carolina, is proving to be one of the best free-agent acquisitions of the offseason after the Panthers signed him to a one-year, $2.75 million deal — following a season in which he ran for 1,079 yards with the Cowboys.
9 ➡️ 5
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— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 12, 2025
“I definitely say it was a little personal. I just wanted to get the win and have a great performance from my end,” said Dowdle postgame. “We were able to get the job done again.”
Dowdle, who said after last week’s game that the Cowboys should “buckle up,” addressed those comments after the win.
“I know I said those comments — I talked to a couple guys out there. They know I meant no harm by it,” Dowdle said. “That’s me. I just always talk, joke around with them and things like that, but yeah, just stay in the moment. I know, don’t ever get too high, don’t ever get too low.”
While Dowdle downplayed it — later adding in the presser “they weren’t buckled up” — he ran with the same vigor as last week’s career performance against the Dolphins, eating clock, moving the chains, and being the workhorse in the kind of offense Dave Canales has preached since being hired in January 2024.
Rico in that zone
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/M18hyQK85V
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 12, 2025
The Panthers started the game with a strong eight-play, 63-yard balanced drive where Dowdle had runs of 9, 12, and 8 yards, plus a 13-yard gain on a short pass, leading to a 31-yard field goal. On the following drive, Bryce Young — who had his most efficient game of the season — threw an 8-yard first down to Tetairoa McMillan on an out route with great timing, but McMillan muffed a pass on the following play, deflecting right into the hands of safety Donovan Wilson for a 21-yard return.
Top 5 plays of the game
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— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 12, 2025
The interception led to a Cowboys touchdown, as Dak Prescott found fullback Hunter Luepke wide open for a 3-yard score to take an early 10-3 lead. But Young and his rookie wide receiver were resilient, shaking it off and executing a six-play, 65-yard drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to McMillan in the back of the end zone, tying the game at 10-10.
TMac’s 1st NFL TD
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— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 12, 2025
“It’s a part of the game. There’s little things that happen,” said Young. “It’s just on to the next play. I always believe in him, I always trust in him. He always has the confidence… that’s adversity, but we all lean on each other for that.”
The Cowboys entered the contest as the No. 1 offense in the NFL, averaging 406 total yards per game, and George Pickens made several big plays, finishing with nine catches for 197 yards (18.7 average), including a 34-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
George. Pickens.
📺: #DALvsCAR on FOX
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/RmDxAeCG4M pic.twitter.com/6ACWJTWeNa— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 12, 2025
But the Panthers’ defense again turned in a solid performance, holding the Cowboys to a season-low 296 total yards and just 31 yards rushing on 1.6 yards per carry — after giving up only 19 rushing yards last week against the Dolphins. While the defense didn’t record a sack on Prescott, they tightened up in the fourth quarter after some sloppy coverage and missed assignments early on.
After the Panthers opened the fourth quarter with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended in another McMillan touchdown to take a 27-24 lead, the Cowboys answered with a 10-play drive of their own, tying the game on a 28-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey. A crucial three-and-out with just over six minutes remaining gave Young and the offense the ball back, and they delivered their longest drive of the day — a 15-play, 71-yard, run-heavy march that included a clutch fourth-down conversion to Hunter Renfrow, setting up the game-winning 33-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald.
Game winner, cue the music
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/HeBTfK1Uye
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 12, 2025
It was the Panthers’ most well-rounded performance of the season, as they continue to find their identity as a power-running team that grinds out wins late — living up to the Cardiac Cats tradition.
“That’s what we’re looking for — progress,” said Canales. “We’re looking for improvement in all areas, and we’re seeing that. We’re seeing groups work together. To be able to come away with the full team win right there was really amazing, and it allows me to just double down on the fact that this process works if we stay together.”
The Panthers will take on the winless Jets next Sunday, October 19, at 1 p.m. at MetLife Stadium as they look to get above .500 for the first time since Week 5 of 2021.
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