Rico Dowdle‘s Key & Peele touchdown celebration went unpunished during game against the Packers.
The Carolina Panthers haven’t had much to celebrate this season, but leave it to Rico Dowdle to steal the spotlight with one of the funniest touchdown moments of the year. After punching in a score, Dowdle didn’t just drop the ball and walk off. He gave fans exactly what they didn’t know they needed: a full-blown Key & Peele celebration, and yes, it got him flagged.
Dowdle channeled his inner comedy star, going all-in on the Key & Peele celebration, with other teammates joining the fun moment.
Rico Dowdle got flagged for the Key & Peele celebration 😭
The Panthers then missed the long extra point 😬
(via @NFLonFOX)
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 2, 2025
And the refs? Not so amused. Out came the flag faster than you could blink your eyes.
The dance, if you can even call it that, was a nod to a Key & Peele sketch in which a football player draws a penalty for doing a similar thrust. Only in on Comedy Central, it took three thrusts for the player to draw a flag, whereas Dowdle was penalized after just two against the Packers.
And because officials felt Dowdle’s celebration was ‘prolonged or excessive,’ according to the wording in the NFL rulebook, the running back was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and the Panthers’ extra point was pushed back 15 yards.
And this is what Dowdle had to tell reporters after the game.
‘From my understanding, everything I’ve learned, we go over stuff like this every week,’ Dowdle told reporters. ‘I definitely think you’re supposed to get two pumps. I hope I don’t get fined.’
Even his teammates couldn’t keep a straight face. The sidelines were full of fans cracking up, probably wishing they could jump onto the field.
So here’s to Rico Dowdle, the man who turned a touchdown into a comedy skit.
