CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers scored 27 of the final 34 points in a 27-24 comeback win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

After gifting Miami a 17-point lead in the first half — largely due to a pair of turnovers by quarterback Bryce Young — Carolina came storming back with an onslaught of scoring drives, led by fill-in starting running back Rico Dowdle. The former South Carolina Gamecocks playmaker, who hails from Asheville, N.C., ran for 206 yards and a touchdown, as the Panthers piled on 20 unanswered points with Chuba Hubbard (calf) sidelined.

Young, who had to overcome his early blunders, threw two touchdown passes, including the game-winning strike to rookie tight end Mitchell Evans, in a comeback effort that should be remembered for its grit more than its play-calling and execution glamour.

After spending three of their first four regular-season weekends on the road, the Panthers (2-3) are undefeated, 2-0, on Mint Street. The Dolphins fell to 1-4.

Here are five takeaways from the second home win of the season:

Young’s turnovers bury Panthers again, but they manage to climb out

Young had gone two games without a turnover, but on Sunday, he piled on the giveaways early in Week 5. For the third time this season, Young had multiple turnovers in the first half of a game.

Young had a fumble and an interception to begin the Week 2 loss against Arizona. He offered a redux against Miami, giving the Dolphins’ defense its first interception of the season early in the second quarter. Just like in Week 2, the two early turnovers led to points.

In fact, six of Young’s first seven turnovers this season have led to points for the opposition. The only turnover that didn’t lead to points ended the game in Jacksonville, Fla., in Week 1.

Young’s first turnover came on a poor zone-read play, which led to Dolphins pass rusher Bradley Chubb immediately meeting him in the backfield. Young tried to escape the incoming sack and accidentally dropped the ball as he went to move out of the way. Chubb recovered the ball, which set up a touchdown drive for Miami’s offense.

On the next drive, Young overshot a throw down the middle of the field to returning wideout Xavier Legette. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick collected the pick to set up another touchdown drive for the Dolphins’ offense.

The two turnovers led to a 17-0 lead for Miami with 10:48 left in the first half.

Young was able to answer that second touchdown drive by Miami with an excellent series that led to an impressive touchdown completion to Legette. Carolina also tacked on a late field goal to end the second quarter. But the Panthers still took a 7-point deficit to halftime.

Young finished with the first half with 110 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception on a 66.7% completion percentage. But his two turnovers, including the first-half fumble, led to 14 first-half points.

The Panthers were able to ride their run game to another field goal to begin the third, though, Young had little to do with his unit’s third scoring series. Carolina had scored 13 unanswered points, but that total still trailed the 14 points off first-half turnovers.

After a back-and-forth series of stalled drives in the second half, Young and the offense were able to take advantage of a 43-yard run by Dowdle. The massive gain set up a short-yardage run by Dowdle for a touchdown, which gave the Panthers 20 unanswered points and a fourth-quarter lead.

While it felt like Young was a spectator for most of the comeback, he did have some impressive plays, including the touchdown throw to Legette. Unfortunately, the Dolphins came roaring back from behind almost immediately after the Panthers took the lead. Spotting Miami a 17-point lead to begin the game made it much easier for the Dolphins recover after a barrage of scoring by Carolina.

But Young and the offense wouldn’t go away. Asked to step up with Dowdle dealing with an apparent leg injury, Young led an 8-play, 83-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Mitchell Evans.

Young finished with 198 passing yards, two touchdowns and interception on a 63.3% completion percentage. He had a passer rating of 90.7.

The offense produced an eye-opening 418 net yards against Miami.

Dowdle has unreal day against a terrible Dolphins run defense

With Hubbard sidelined, Dowdle got the bulk of the touches out of the backfield against Miami. The Dolphins came into the game with the 30th-ranked run defense, and Dowdle took advantage with some big runs.

Unlike Hubbard, Dowdle is dynamic around the edge. While outside runs have been hit-or-miss for the Panthers, Dowdle was able to pace drives with his burst in space. He produced 73 rushing yards on 10 carries (7.3 yards per tote) in the first half.

Even with a double-digit deficit, Dowdle was able to bring something dynamic to an offense that was playing from behind throughout the first two quarters. He looked strong and fast running through the trenches. He also made an excellent second-quarter play on a screen pass for a first down.

Dowdle also served as the catalyst for some early second-half success. He opened the third quarter with an explosive 53-yard run, which was the biggest running play of the team season to that point. The big run ended up leading to a 49-yard field goal, which added to a 13-point unanswered streak.

Dowdle added to his highlight reel with a 43-yard breakaway in the fourth quarter to set up the strongest drive by either side in the second half. Dowdle capped that series with the second touchdown of his Carolina career.

Dowdle finished with 206 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries (9 yards per carry) and 28 receiving yards on three catches. He was electric, but it’s fair to note that he was going up against a putrid run defense.

Rookie running back Trevor Etienne, in his fifth career game, produced 22 rushing yards on four carries.

The Panthers can’t cover tight ends ... or Jaylen Waddle

The Panthers’ defensive pitfalls under coordinator Ejiro Evero have been relatively consistent. His group has struggled to stop the run and tight ends throughout his three-year tenure.

The Dolphins came in with the 27th-ranked run offense, so the tight end attack was going to be the area to watch all Sunday. It turns out, the Panthers still can’t cover tight ends, no matter how much talent is available on the depth chart.

Darren Waller was a problem all game long. The veteran tight end, who came out of retirement this summer, caught his first five targets for 78 yards and a touchdown in the first half against Carolina. He helped Tagovailoa move the ball consistently, especially on the two drives after the Young turnovers.

Tight end Tanner Conner also got involved in the Panthers’ pass coverage woes. Conner picked up a first down on a 15-yard completion in the third quarter. He finished with two catches for 16 yards. Julian Hill, another tight end, picked up 22 yards on four catches.

Wideout Jaylen Waddle paced the Dolphins’ passing game as one of Tua Tagovailoa’s favorite targets as well. Waddle caught four passes for 47 yards in the first half. The former first-round pick added two catches for 63 yards and a touchdown in the second half.

With the Dolphins trailing for the first time in the game, Tagovailoa launched a 46-yard pass down the field for Waddle, who got past cornerback Mike Jackson, for a touchdown.

While the Panthers’ pass rush showed signs of life with three sacks, Tagovailoa completed 75% of his passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. The run defense was able to hold Miami to 19 rushing yards, but running back De’Von Achane picked up six catches for 30 receiving yards as receiver.

Overall, the Dolphins produced 248 net yards.

Tetairoa McMillan continues to look the part outside of one area

The Panthers’ first-round pick has been an inarguable success story for the franchise. McMillan has made several big plays in his five games, and he looks like a legitimate No. 1, even with his lack of experience and occasional mental lapses.

However, he has yet to score a touchdown as rookie. Through five games, he’s been held out of the end zone, while others like Legette, Hubbard, Hunter Renfrow, Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans have hit pay dirt.

To be clear, this is a nitpick to his production. He’s at the top of the league in rookie receiving yards, and he has been incredibly dynamic in the open field. But the Panthers really need more points on the board, and McMillan’s size should stand out much more in the red zone than it has to this point.

The scoreless streak is worth watching throughout the rest of the season, as the assumption was that McMillan would be a mandatory target in the end zone.

But through five games, McMillan has 41 catches for 351 yards. Not too shabby, but still scoreless.

Bounce-back game for the rookie kicker

Rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald struggled mightily against New England in Week 4. He missed a 55-yard field-goal attempt and an extra-point attempt, while also booting an unplanned touchback on an early kickoff.

Against Miami, Fitzgerald bounced back. He had a great opening kickoff, limiting a kick return to just a 24-yard gain. He also made an extra-point attempt and a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter. He made a 49-yarder to start the third quarter.

The kicker position can be volatile, especially for younger specialists. It was nice to see Fitzgerald rebound after his first major NFL adversity.

He finished two of two on field goals and three of three on extra points.

Legette, who had missed the previous two games with a hamstring injury, also had a nice comeback game. He caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown on three targets. He came into the game with four catches for 8 yards.

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