Chuba Hubbard

As the Panthers head into their bye week, Canales said he "likes" the backfield balance the team struck in Week 13's upset of the Rams, when Dowdle saw 18 rushes to 17 carries for Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard, fully recovered from a calf injury, ran 15 pass routes against LA -- catching a touchdown on two grabs -- while Dowdle logged six routes and caught both of his targets. "Some of it was third-down opportunities. We've been using Chuba primarily as our third-down back, and then he gets series as we go," Canales said. With his pass game involvement reduced to almost nothing, Dowdle will be a low-ceiling, touchdown-dependent RB3 when the Panthers return from bye in Week 15. Hubbard, meanwhile, will have some value in deeper PPR formats.

Panthers RBs Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle split touches throughout the team s win over the Los Angeles Rams, but Hubbard outproduced Dowdle. Hubbard went 17-83-0 on the ground and 2-41-1 through the air. Dowdle went 18-58-0 on the ground and 2-21-0 through the air. Hubbard also outsnapped Dowdle 38 to 27 with Hubbard running 15 routes to Dowdle s 6. This could make both only borderline starts moving forward despite the heavy lean on the run game.

Hubbard carried the ball 17 times for a team-high 83 yards and caught both his targets for 41 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 31-28 win over the Rams.

After seeing the lions' share of the touches in four of the last five weeks, Dowdle found himself in a near 50/50 split with Chuba Hubbard this week. His 18 carries were only one more than Hubbard's 17, but Hubbard got the best of him through the air, thanks in part to a 35-yard receiving touchdown. A neutral game script coupled with a rainy second-half paved the way for both Dowdle and Hubbard to see multiple touches this week, but this good be a peek into what's to come for the Panthers' backfield when they return from their Week 14 bye. Anything remotely close to a 50/50 split will undoubtedly hurt Dowdle's upside and could make him more of a touchdown-dependent play. That said, he'll have some play as an RB2 in Week 15 against the Saints.

The 19 touches Hubbard saw in this one marked his most since Week 3. He entered the day with a combined 21 touches in his previous four games. Hubbard made the most of his work, out-gaining Rico Dowdle by 45 yards while also being the only back to score in this one. Hubbard took a short pass behind the line of scrimmage for a 35-yard touchdown on the Panthers' first offensive drive to tie the game at 7-7, and continued to rotate in with Dowdle for the remainder of the day. A rain-soaked game likely impacted the Panthers' decision to run it 40 times in Sunday's win, but the head coach Dave Canales clearly set out to get Hubbard going early in this one. Until we can be certain this is the new norm for Hubbard, fantasy managers should approach him with caution when the Panthers return in Week 15 to face the Saints.