The Carolina Panthers have a problem on their hands, and head coach Dave Canales spoke on it this week.

The Carolina Panthers put together a thrilling comeback win over the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday, rallying from a 17-0 deficit to collect a 27-24 victory.

While there was plenty of credit to go around for the Panthers' win, perhaps the bulk of the attention should go to running back Rico Dowdle, who racked up 206 rushing yards and a touchdown while averaging a robust nine yards per carry.

Dowdle's breakout performance came while Chuba Hubbard was sidelined with a calf injury, and now, head coach Dave Canales may need to give some serious thought to how he will distribute backfield touches from here on out.

“What I take from it is we have two good backs, and so we’ll have to figure that part out,” Canales said, via Joseph Person of The Athletic. “That’s a good problem to have. But it’s something we have to work through.”

Most teams would love to have that situation, so this is certainly a cushy "problem" for Carolina to have, although you can see how it could give way to some rather tough choices for Canales.

Hubbard racked up 1,195 yards and 10 scores on 4.8 yards per attempt last season, quietly establishing himself as one of the better halfbacks in football. The Panthers then went out and signed Dowdle to a one-year deal in free agency, hoping he would serve as a perfect complement to Hubbard in the rushing attack.

Dowdle struggled over the first four weeks, but his monster Week 5 showing will almost surely result in the 27-year-old earning himself more attention going forward.

Hubbard's status for Carolina's Week 6 matchup against Dowdle's former Dallas Cowboys squad remains up in the air, so Dowdle may be the No. 1 back by default next Sunday anyway. But once Hubbard returns, Canales will definitely have to figure out a way to navigate things.

Dowdle registered 1,079 yards and a couple of touchdowns while logging 4.6 yards per tote last year, representing, by far, the most productive campaign of his NFL career to date. Through five games in 2025, he has totaled 289 yards while reaching the end zone twice.