Against the Jaguars, the Panthers ran 61 total plays, 25 of which were runs, roughly 41 percent. That number went significantly down this last week to 25 percent (19 rushes in 77 plays), thanks to the aforementioned early deficit.
“Getting back on schedule, playing good football will allow us to have that balanced football that we want to play,” said Canales.
This is still a team built to run, though, and they aren’t shying away from that identity.
“We’re a run team,” promised offensive lineman Damien Lewis. “Just some stuff we just got to clean up, up front, and get it together.”
When those opportunities do come, the results will be largely dependent on Hubbard and Dowdle. The former is averaging 3.7 yards per carry through two games, on 26 carries. That carry number is still 10 more than Hubbard had at this point last season (16), given even bigger score discrepancies in those games, and splitting carries more evenly at that time with Miles Sanders.
This season, he’s theoretically splitting those carries with Dowdle, although the latter only had three rushes in Week 1. Dowdle’s number went up in Week 2, with six rushes.