Who Should I Start? Rico Dowdle or Rhamondre Stevenson

Saturday, January 3, 10:02 AM

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (toe) does not have an injury designation heading into the team's week 18 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dowdle appears to be in a 60-40 timeshare with fellow running back Chuba Hubbard, with the latter seeing the vast majority of third downs over the past three games. The Panthers hosted the Buccaneers in Week 16, and Dowdle was held to just 29 yards from nine rushing attempts, but did earn 14 receiving yards from his four receptions off six targets. Even though Dowdle has been absent on nearly every third down over the last two games, he still managed to earn more targets and run six more routes each game than Hubbard. Dowdle profiles as a low-end RB2 against a middle-of-the-road Buccaneers run defense in the 2025 regular season finale.

Sunday, January 4, 8:08 PM

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson had seven carries for 131 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Miami Dolphins. He also caught two passes for an additional 22 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. All in all, Stevenson had 153 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots officially locked up the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture. It was very encouraging to see both Stevenson and Tre'Veyon Henderson co-exist in New England's backfield for the second week in a row. The 27-year-old running back has six touchdowns over his last three games, and he ranks as a top-five running back in full-PPR leagues since the team's bye week. He should remain heavily involved as a short-yardage and receiving threat when the Patriots play in the Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Chargers next weekend.