Rico Dowdle gave the fans something to cheer about and then a reason to hold their breath. The Carolina Panthers running back found the end zone in Sunday’s 16-13 shocker over the Green Bay Packers, but it wasn’t the touchdown that turned heads. It was what came after. Dowdle’s celebration gave the Packers a penalty, but they failed to convert it. After the game, Dowdle finally broke his silence on the play everyone was talking about.

Turns out, the Panthers’ RB wasn’t buying the penalty explanation. According to him, he followed the rules to the letter, or in this case, the pump count.

“From my understanding, everything I’ve learned, we go over stuff like this every week. I definitely think you’re supposed to get two pumps,” Dowdle told reporters.

Then came the line that got laughs all around Panther Nation: “I hope I don’t get fined.” The crowd in the locker room cracked up, but the running back wasn’t joking about his wallet.

Of course, the whole thing started with a touchdown that could’ve gone down as just another score. But Dowdle decided to channel Key & Peele with his now-infamous celebration. Two pumps. A little flair. And then, the yellow flag. A 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration. The sketch he referenced is a classic. Fans know it well. But this time, the bit came with real consequences.

Suddenly, the Packers had a chance, tying the game later without chasing two. Thankfully, Dowdle redeemed himself with a crucial play to seal it, but that celebration moment hung around all game like a ghost.

Still, Dowdle’s day was too good to ignore. Another 100-yard performance. A road win over the Pack, the NFC North’s top seed. With Carolina’s playoff hopes flickering, Dowdle’s legs just might have kept the flame alive.

Rico Dowdle made sure his play did the real talking

Even with that celebration blunder, Rico Dowdle and Ryan Fitzgerald made sure it didn’t cost them a win. Dowdle ran wild for 130 yards and two touchdowns, including the run that set up Fitzgerald’s game-winner. And Carolina had shocked the Packers, snapping their three-game streak and moving above .500 for the first time this year.

But it wasn’t smooth all the way. Fitzgerald’s earlier extra-point attempt, a 48-yarder into the swirling Frozen Tundra wind, fell short. That left Carolina hanging onto a 13-6 lead. Then Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs bulldozed in from a yard out to tie the game late. Suddenly, it looked like the momentum was flipping.

Yet, on the next drive, Dowdle took over. His 19-yard burst from midfield set up the same kicker who missed earlier, and this time, Fitzgerald nailed it.

“I just wanted to make up for it,” Dowdle said. “So I knew I had to come out there and keep putting my best foot forward, because I didn’t want that to end up biting us.”

Head coach Dave Canales had promised Dowdle the lead-back role this week, and the running back delivered. Against the league’s third-best run defense, he ran through everything Green Bay threw at him.

Now, Dowdle’s play is doing all the convincing. He got the RB1 nod. He made it count. And if Sunday was any hint, the Queen City might just have found its new workhorse.