Anthony Rizzuti, Panthers WireWed, November 26, 2025 at 9:43 PM UTC·1 min readOnly one person knew for sure what Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle meant when he posted this following Monday night's loss to the San Francisco 49ers . . .
Well, the speculation regarding that curious squiggly eyes emoji has now been put to rest.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDowdle spoke with reporters from his locker on Wednesday, and was asked about the meaning behind his interesting tweet.
"Just was frustrated with the outcome of the game," Dowdle stated. "We lost and I thought we had the opportunity to run the ball on 'em. So it's just frustration. Coach addressed it with the team, it's all good. Just focusing on going into the next week."
That game, which ended in a disappointing 20-9 defeat, saw Dowdle record just six rushing attempts. The sixth-year back had entered Week 12 as the NFL's fifth-leading rusher and, as proven in previous outings, shown he can carry the team to victory.
But that wasn't the approach from head coach and offensive play-caller Dave Canales, who has since taken accountability for abandoning the run. Canales acknowledged his shortcomings in the rushing attack, in front of media and the team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Like I said, he addressed it with the team and he talked to me this morning about it," Dowdle later added. "We gotta run the ball in order for us to have our best chances and things like that."
Hopefully for the Panthers, the next emoji that Dowdle tweets out isn't nearly as ambiguous.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers RB Rico Dowdle explains meaning behind his curious tweet
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