What’s an ideal way to follow up your franchise’s first shutout victory in five seasons? Well, it’s not what the Carolina Panthers did at Gillette Stadium last Sunday.

After dominating their division rival Atlanta Falcons in a 30-0 win in Week 3, the Panthers faltered—in disappointing fashion—in Week 4. Carolina was thoroughly bested in all three phases of the game by the New England Patriots, and ate an embarrassing 42-13 loss.

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Now, the tide turns to another AFC East opponent—as they’re back home in Charlotte to host the Miami Dolphins. And the Dolphins, just like the Panthers, are desperately trying to swim away from a 1-4 start.

Here are the biggest storylines for this Week 4 matchup . . .

The Rico Show

Unfortunately for the Panthers, they’ll be trying to avoid a second straight defeat without the engine of their offense—running back Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard was a non-participant throughout the week in practice due to a calf strain and was officially ruled out of the contest on Friday.

That sets the stage for backup Rico Dowdle, who isn’t exactly your normal second-stringer. Dowdle, as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, was one of 16 1,000-yard rushers in the NFL last season.

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The Gaffney, S.C. native and University of South Carolina Gamecock has already seen a decent bit of action thus far. He’s run for 83 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, with 19 of those attempts coming over the last two games.

Dowdle, and what’ll likely be a sprinkling of rookie Trevor Etienne, will need to be effective to help get the Panthers’ battered offense on track. He’ll have a decent opportunity to do so against the Dolphins, who have allowed the third-most rushing yards per game (158.0).

Sound the Horn

Carolina’s injuries have also forced their hand on rookie wideout Jimmy Horn Jr., who is expected to make his NFL regular-season debut. Oh, and his first outing probably won’t be a nothing burger.

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Horn, a healthy scratch in each of the first four contests, will have a role on offense—at least according to head coach Dave Canales. He’s not up to be eye candy on special teams.

“This is an offensive emphasis for Jimmy,” Canales told reporters on Wednesday. “This developmental part of knowing that these opportunities come up. This isn’t the way that we would all love to see this happen with D-Mo [David Moore] getting injured. But opportunities come in a bunch of different ways and here we are. And I’m excited for Jimmy to get out there, I’m excited for what he can bring to us.”

The 2025 sixth-round pick possesses game-breaking speed that has not been present in the Panthers offense for quite some time. Horn may have a chance to break the top off a Dolphins defense that has relinquished the second-most yards per attempt (8.8).

Along with Horn, the Panthers will get fellow receiver Xavier Legette back on the field. Legette, who put together a nightmarish first two weeks with just eight yards on four catches, missed the last pair of games due to a hamstring injury.

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Avoiding a hole

The Panthers, in all three of their losses this season, have been doomed by sluggish first halves. They entered the break down 20-3 in Week 1, 20-3 in Week 2 and 28-6 in Week 3.

We can point the fingers to quarterback Bryce Young’s early turnovers in the first two games or the defense and special teams coming up dull in the third. But it doesn’t take much discussion to know that Carolina needs to start out cleanly and efficiently, on all sides of the ball, to give themselves a chance.

Through the first 21 games of Dave Canales’ head-coaching tenure, the Panthers are 6-15—and have lost by an average margin of 18.2 points. For a little context, Matt Rhule’s Panthers (2020 to 2022) lost by an average margin of 11.4 points and Frank Reich’s Panthers (2023) lost by an average margin of 12.1 points.

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So for Canales and company to shake off these lowly ways and avoid being solidified as the most non-competitive product in franchise history, they must begin on a stronger and sharper note.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers vs. Dolphins 2025: Biggest storylines for Week 5