Through 13 weeks, the Carolina Panthers are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the most successful fourth-down conversions in the NFL with 21. They’re doing it with a 70 percent conversion rate, the fourth-best mark in the league.
Against a Los Angeles Rams team that entered Charlotte riding a six-game winning streak, that identity was the difference in the Panthers’ biggest win of the season.
Early in the second quarter, facing a 4th-and-1 at the Rams’ 24-yard line, Head coach Dave Canales didn’t hesitate. Running back Rico Dowdle took the handoff, powered for six, and the drive turned into a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal.