For running back Rico Dowdle, what was meant to be a touchdown celebration inspired by a comedy skit ended with a 15-yard penalty and a $14,491 fine. People are stunned and amused alike. But as it turns out, the team’s own meeting notes may have unintentionally set Dowdle up for the flag.

When asked about the whole two-pump controversy in the latest episode of the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams, Panthers CB Jaycee Horn shared, “We’d actually gone over that exact Key & Peele skit in a team meeting a couple weeks ago. Coach Burko joked that three pumps would get you flagged, but two were fine. I guess Rico took that as the real rule. After that meeting, I even told the DBs, ‘Bro, our next turnover, we’ve got to do that celebration.’ So when I saw him pull it out and do the two pumps, then get flagged anyway, it was just hilarious, especially since we had just talked about it in the meeting.”

The skit Horn referred to is Key & Peele’s famous “Hingle McCringleberry’s Excessive Celebration,” a parody of how strict the NFL once was about touchdown celebrations. It features a fictional player, Hingle McCringleberry, who plays for the fictional team Rhinos and keeps getting penalized for his signature pelvic-thrust routine after every score. Each time, the referee warns him that two pumps are fine, but three will draw a flag. It’s a fake “rule,” but the clip was apparently used as a lighthearted reference during one of the Carolina Panthers’ team meetings– maybe while discussing celebration guidelines, even.

So, with the exaggerated “two-pump rule” in mind, Dowdle scored his second touchdown of the game late in the third quarter, giving the Panthers a 13-6 lead, and mimicked the same move. He stopped at two pelvic thrusts and thought he was safe. Unfortunately for him, the show doesn’t take into account that the NFL rulebook prohibits celebrations of a sexual nature of any kind. 

Now, Rico isn’t the only player who was fined by the league for his aggressive celebrations.

Over the years, plenty of players have learned the hard way that the NFL doesn’t find “McCringleberry-style” celebrations nearly as funny as fans do. Back in 2015, Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer was fined $11,576 for a pelvic-thrust gesture after a touchdown. A year later, Antonio Brown drew an even steeper $24,309 fine for his end-zone dance with the Steelers. The trend kept popping up. Michael Bennett was fined $9,115 in 2017, Jamaal Williams was hit with an $18,566 deduction in 2023 despite no flag on the field, and most recently, Cowboys tackle Nate Thomas was fined $4,814 for doing the same pump celebration.

Due to his “unsportsmanlike conduct”, the 15-yard penalty backed up kicker Ryan Fitzgerald, who went on to miss the ensuing extra point. And then came the $14,491 fine, as confirmed by an anonymous source close to the situation. Dowdle’s agent, David Canter, says that the fine would be appealed, while the player himself has started a GoFundMe campaign. 

Taking to his X account, Dowdle wrote, “Starting a go fund me 🤣 they got me 🥹.” His campaign page elaborated: “After much thought I’ve launched a GoFundMe for my fines..Key said I got three pumps but I guess the NFL disagrees.”

Well, that GoFundMe part is actually a joke. Dowdle partnered with the platform, pledging that all proceeds would go to the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, an organization supporting adoption, foster care, and family preservation services. Within days, the donations crossed $20,000, prompting Dowdle to admit, “It was a joke at first. It turned into something much bigger. Thankfully, everybody was able to actually donate to a greater cause.”

Even the man behind the original Key & Peele sketch, Keegan-Michael Key, joined in the moment, posting a lighthearted video after the game. “Rico, man, you got robbed. You only did two pumps,” Key said. “I’m sorry, man. Now I’m going to have to write a new sketch.”

Despite the on-field chaos, the Panthers still managed to win 16-13 over the Packers, and Dowdle has become one of the Panthers’ most consistent performers, ranking third in the NFL in rushing yards midway through the season. His surge has come in the absence of Chuba Hubbard, with Dowdle delivering back-to-back performances of over 230 scrimmage yards in Weeks 5 and 6 to solidify his spot as Carolina’s lead back.

As the 5–4 Panthers prepare to face the New Orleans Saints next, Horn also highlighted a more serious note about Bryce Young’s rising leadership and clutch play.

Jaycee Horn reveals Bryce Young’s growing impact on the locker room

Horn made that clear, saying, “Being great when it’s winning time, that’s just Bryce. Ever since he’s been here, whenever we’ve needed points late in the game, he’s come through. I believe in him like no other. He’s cold-blooded in those moments, always makes the right throw, always finds a way to escape and get the ball out.”

Horn was referring to Young’s latest performance, a final drive in the Panthers’ win when the QB had moved the offense 40 yards in nine plays, setting up Fitzgerald’s 49-yard, game-winning field goal just as time ran out.

“I told him after the game, ‘Boy, you got ice in your veins,’” Horn said. “To go down and get us in field goal position in Lambeau, a hostile environment, it’s windy, the conditions are not the best, and he (still) found a way to get us in field goal position, and the rook came through and won the game. So, that’s the main thing that sticks out to me about Bryce. Like, when it’s clutch time, he’s at his best.”

Statistically, Young’s numbers remain modest. He threw for just 102 yards and an interception that night. But his growing list of fourth-quarter heroics tells a different story. With playoff hopes still alive, Carolina’s defense knows what Horn is capable of doing. Bryce Young is definitely not perfect, but he could be the guy to have when everything’s on the line.