Cowboys vs Panthers: Carolina pass rush has seen a resurgence in recent games

Taking one last look at the Panthers side of things.

4 bold Carolina Panthers predictions against the Cowboys in Week 15 – Luke Gray, CatCrave.com

Carolina being competitive recently has made for some interesting predictions.

Carolina Panthers secure 5+ sacks

One thing that has gone under the radar over the past three games is the complete resurgence of the Carolina Panthers pass rush. They have 25 sacks on the season — 13 of those coming during this stretch.

Up against a patchwork Cowboys offensive line, this represents another opportunity for the Panthers to make an impact. Dallas gave up three sacks in its Monday Night Football loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. If Evero is smart in his blitzing scheme as he has been in recent weeks, this could be a big day.

Expect a potentially prolific performance from D.J. Wonnum. It’s no coincidence that the Panthers’ pass rush has come to life since the former Minnesota Vikings star made his debut in the win over the New York Giants.

Carolina Panthers hold the Cowboys under 100 yards rushing

The Carolina Panthers struggled immensely in the run game as they have done all season long against the Philadelphia Eagles. This wasn’t exactly a surprising development when one looks at their performance levels throughout the campaign and the standard of rushing attack Nick Sirianni has at his disposal.

This could be a real opportunity for the Panthers to hold a team under 100 rushing yards for the first time since the Week 3 win at the Las Vegas Raiders. The Cowboys average just 91.2 rushing yards per game — 28th best in the league.

Winning in the trenches is crucial. The likes of Shy Tuttle and LaBryan Ray must enhance their ability to shed blocks and make plays at the contact point to achieve this objective.

A’Shawn Robinson changes Panthers defense as a pass rusher – Kassidy Hill, Panthers.com

A defensive resurgence in recent weeks has been led by one particular Panthers player.

CHARLOTTE—The Panthers pass rush has come alive in recent weeks. After nine sacks and 20 quarterback hurries in the first eight weeks of the season, the defense has notched 16 sacks and 29 quarterback hurries in the last five games.

There are a few reasons for that: increased chemistry amongst a defense that saw a lot of new faces and injuries or the addition of D.J. Wonnum and then Amaré Barno, allowing for more push and helping to free up Jadeveon Clowney.

One of the more surprising factors though is the pass rush Carolina is getting from defensive end A’Shawn Robinson.

“I think this is the most opportunities I ever had to rush in my career and I’m capitalizing on them,” Robinson said Sunday following the Panthers game against the Eagles, a smile he couldn’t keep away taking over his face.

The smile was a message, he said.

“It’s a shot to everybody that discredited me in my whole career, said I couldn’t pass rush.”

Robinson is now in his ninth season in the league. Three of them were in LA with the Rams. Ejiro Evero was a coach on that defense and has some insight as to why Robinson didn’t receive too many pass rush opportunities with the Rams from 2020-2022.

“Well, I think the major reason that he didn’t get much pass rush in LA is because Aaron Donald got to the quarterback too fast,” laughed Evero.

But now as the defensive coordinator for the Panthers, Evero is reaping the benefits of a Robinson on a mission.

“I’ve been the best player since I came from college to the NFL. And you can say whatever you want to say, statistically it shows, film shows itself,” Robinson declared. “So, I believe myself on a high level who I am, and I know who I am.”

Jaycee Horn reacts to Panthers being favored over Cowboys for Week 15 game – Zach Roberts, Sports Illustrated

Carolina is favored in a game for the first time in two years.

The margin is slim, but the oddsmakers still think the safest bet is for the Panthers to win a home game over the Dallas Cowboys. That has not happened very much in Jaycee Horn’s career, as the team has been pretty bad overall since well before he was drafted.

That said, the team seems to be trending in the right way lately. They have two wins in five games and the three losses are all to division-leading teams that came down to the final possession. They’re playing better, and Las Vegas is finally willing to admit that. Here’s what Horn had to say about it.

Jaycee Horn is surprised his Panthers are favored but not for the reason you think

Jaycee Horn said he’s surprised that the odds favor Carolina because “it seems like everybody hates the Panthers.” He smiled and continued,” At the end of the day, that stuff don’t matter. All these pre-season awards, the picks all these analysts make, they tend to be wrong. We just gotta do better in our game.”

Horn said he’s not necessarily surprised that it’s been 33 games since the Panthers were favored. He’s just mostly surprised they’ve been picked to win this one at all. Since 2021, the Panthers are 17-46. That was Horn’s rookie season, so he has not been on a good team yet.

Horn, who is injured and questionable to play this weekend, commented recently on the surge the Panthers are experiencing lately. He believes things are trending in the right direction, and the odds might be a part of that.

Here is the Cowboys’ final injury report for Week 15 at Carolina.