Cowboys vs Panthers: 3 things to love about the Week 15 opponent Ben Grimaldi The Dallas Cowboys will be on the road to face the Carolina Panthers in Week 15 and despite their opponents’ recent surge, there are reasons to love the matchup. Both teams are coming off tough losses that could’ve been wins if they made the plays at the right moments. For the Cowboys, it was botching situational football on a blocked punt, and for the Panthers, it was dropping a touchdown that would’ve made the Philadelphia Eagles the laughingstock of the league. Neither team was able to get the job done, which is why they have a combined eight wins on the year.Now the Cowboys and Panthers are set to play with Mike McCarthy’s team clinging to miniscule playoff hopes that could apparently save his job. Here are three things to love about the Cowboys’ Week 15 matchup with the Panthers. Horrible rush defense Brad Penner-Imagn Images If you thought the Cowboys had a bad rushing defense, you haven’t seen the Panthers attempt to stop the run. It’s a defense that ranks dead last in the league against the run, allowing over 170 yards a game on the ground. That’s more than 23 yards worse than the next team, and almost 30 yards worse than the Cowboys, who rank 30th against the run. The Panthers have allowed six running backs to run for over 100 yards this season, and eight to run for at least 80 yards. It’s also a defense that’s surrendered 19 scores on the ground. That should be music to running back Rico Dowdle’s ears. The veteran RB is coming off consecutive 100-yard rushing games, and he had a career high 131 yards in the loss on Monday Night Football. Dowdle and the running game is heating up and now they get a putrid rushing defense to try for a third straight 100-yard outing. The Panthers are giving up an NFL-worst five yards a carry, which should be good news after Dowdle ran for 7.3 ypc last week. The Cowboys will love going up against the worst rushing defenses in the league in Week 15. Lack of receiving weapons Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports The Cowboys played with their top trio of cornerbacks for the first time on the season in Week 14, but they were torched by an elite wide receiver in Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase. Don’t expect a similar problem against the Panthers’ group of receivers, who don’t have anyone nearly as good. Carolina’s passing game is 27th in the league, gaining just under 187 ypg, and their lead WR is rookie Xavier Legette, who has just 39 catches for 432 yards and four scores. Legette has a bright future, but he’s not ready to be the main passing option in an offense. It was Legette’s dropped touchdown last week that cost the Panthers a win and despite his physical tools, he’s not a WR1 yet. The best option for the Panthers is veteran WR Adam Thielen, who’s had two big games after coming back from injury. At 34-years old, Thielen can still find his way open, he’s caught 17 balls for 201 yards and a touchdown since returning, but he’s not the player he once was. After Legette and Thielen, no Panthers WR has more than 26 catches or surpassed 300 yards on the season. Those are the only two legitimate threats at WR for quarterback Bryce Young. At tight end, another rookie, Ja’Tavion Sanders, leads the team with 29 catches for just 302 yards. There aren’t many receiving options to threaten the Cowboys’ defense. After whom they faced last week, the Dallas must love matching up against the Panthers WRs in Week 15. Lacks a pass rush The Panthers’ defense has a problem getting to the QB, they have just 25 sacks on the year, good for 28th in the league. After trading away their best pass rusher in Brian Burns last offseason, the defense had no one else to command attention off the edge, and it’s been a problem. Defensive end A’Shawn Robinson leads the team with 4.5 sacks, which is a career high for him, 2.5 more than his previous best seasons. The next best pass rushers have been linebacker Josey Jewell and veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, who both have 3.5 on the year. Not exactly a murderer’s row for the Cowboys’ offensive line to block. The Panthers have been getting more pressure in the last few weeks, but they’re a team who struggles to get after the QB consistently. If the line can give QB Cooper Rush time, the Cowboys should be able to put up points through the air, where the Panthers are next to last in the league in allowing passing touchdowns. Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.
Position battleground (rookies): Cowboys vs. Panthers breakdown for draft picks/UDFAs
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images What’s your opinion on this year’s rookie class for Dallas? Previously we broke down both team’s offense and defense for the upcoming game between the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. Now we dive back into the position battleground, this time looking at how some of each team’s rookie class stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com) Dallas Cowboys Tyler Guyton First RoundGuyton didn’t play last week with an ankle sprain. He may actually play in this week’s game as he has practiced in full this week, but some comments coming from the organization hint that the chance of him playing this week is remote. Keep a close eye on the inactive list on game day. Grade: 49.2 Marshawn Kneeland Second RoundKneeland was back on the field last week in a limited role. He played 23 snaps and made two tackles. Look for him to continue a rotational role at the moment.Grade: 55.1 Cooper Beebe Third RoundBeebe missed the second half last week and was having a good game up until then. He has already been ruled out this week as he tries to clear concussion protocol. Grade: 64.4 Marist Liufau Third RoundWatching Liufau develop these past few weeks is exciting. Using his speed and burst to come in and create extra pressure on passing downs is fun to watch, and leading the team last week in sacks is a positive stepping stone to him creating a unique role for himself among the Dallas linebackers. He has a tough ask this week though as the Panthers offensive line have allowed the fourth-fewest sacks. Grade: 46.5 Caelen Carson Fifth RoundMoved to Injured ReserveGrade: 39.7 Ryan Flournoy Sixth RoundFlournoy showcased his straight line speed last week as a gunner on special teams. He was great at getting downfield quickly and shutting down return options. Expect much the same from him for now.Grade: 59.4 Brevyn Spann-Ford UDFAFord saw his snap count go down last week with the return of Jake Ferguson. He’s proven to be a good run blocker and as the TE3 that will really be his key role on offense. Other than that his other role on special teams will keep him busy. Grade: 56.7 Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images Carolina Panthers Xavier Legette First RoundIt’s been a tough start for the standout South Carolina receiver. He’s only managed 39 receptions for 432 yards this year, but he’s hampered by a generally poor roster. Having Bryce Young back at quarterback raised his stock a little, but he’s yet to score a touchdown now in five weeks.Grade: 59.5 Jonathon Brooks Second RoundMoved to Injured ReserveGrade: 51.5 Trevin Wallace Third RoundThe young Kentucky linebacker was pushed into a starting role this year due to injury. Now he will miss this week’s game due to a shoulder injury and that creates a huge headache for the Panthers coaching staff as the linebacker position is already thin. Grade: 56.0 Ja’Tavion Sanders Fourth RoundThis Longhorns tight end was never a huge blocker in college but he’s a fast and reliable receiver. This year he has 302 receiving yards and one touchdown, which isn’t bad considering the offense he has to work with. The most receptions he has in a game this season came against Washington where he had six catches. Grade: 55.0 Chau Smith-Wade Fifth RoundAnother player that moved into a starting role due to injury. You’ll find Wade defending the slot primarily on the Panthers defense. He allows a 70% completion rate and is third on defense in penalties. Facing Lamb in the slot will be interesting to watch, especially given the fact that this Panthers defense has given the second-most receiving touchdowns this year. Grade: 53.4 Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
Cowboys to lose CB Trevon Diggs for remainder of 2024 season
Cowboys to lose CB Trevon Diggs for remainder of 2024 season Todd Brock The Cowboys’ unceremonious exit to the 2024 season has been long, painful, and gradual. In fact, the team’s top players have been dropping out here and there, one at a time since before Week 1. Now, another one bites the dust. Cornerback Trevon Diggs, already ruled out of Sunday’s game versus the Carolina Panthers, is now reportedly facing knee surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. The news was first reported by Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, who posted the development to X on Saturday, shortly after it had been revealed that Diggs- who had been listed as questionable- would not be traveling with his teammates to Charlotte for their Week 15 matchup. Diggs had just returned from a two-game absence to appear in Monday night’s date with Cincinnati, playing every defensive snap in the 27-20 loss. It’s unclear if Diggs re-aggravated that injury or suffered an entirely new one, but an MRI this week on Diggs’s still-problematic left knee showed damage that would require surgery following the season. The decision has been made that the end of his season is now. WFAA’s Ed Werder reports that, per his source, the injury to Diggs’s knee is “significant,” though specifics have not been made public. Diggs played just two games in 2023 before an ACL tear- also in the left knee- ended that season, too. When the 2024 campaign finally ends for the Cowboys, the former second-round draft pick out of Alabama will have appeared in only 13 of their last 34 regular-season contests. [affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] Todd Archer of ESPN cites his own source as saying that this most recent issue “is not related to” the 2023 ACL repair. Diggs is now the fifth Cowboys’ Pro Bowler to be on injured reserve this season, joining Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, and DaRon Bland. Eight other Cowboys are currently on IR, too. Prescott and Martin have already seen their seasons come to a premature end due to injury, as have Sam Williams, John Stephens Jr., Markquese Bell, and DeMarvion Overshown. And now, Diggs. Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.
Cowboys third visit to Panthers since 2018 inspires very little excitement
Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images The Cowboys have played their way into making this week’s game in Carolina feel pretty irrelevant. For the second consecutive season, the Dallas Cowboys will visit the Carolina Panthers for a late season matchup that feels like a bit of a footnote. The year-to-year nature of the NFL will be on full display this Sunday in Charlotte, as the home Panthers are actually favorites to beat the Cowboys for just the sixth time in franchise history. Both teams come into this game with a losing record with Dallas at 5-8 and Carolina 3-10, but even the three wins the Panthers have so far is progress from the 1-8 record they had coming into last season’s Week 11 date with the Cowboys. The Cowboys beat the Panthers for their third of what would be six consecutive losses, their second such losing streak of the season, as they finished 2-15. Conversely, the Cowboys used the win to begin a new win streak that lasted five games before December road losses at Buffalo and Miami. The Cowboys relied on Dan Quinn’s takeaway-fueled defense to pull away in last year’s win at the Panthers. A DaRon Bland pick-six and strip sack that led to a Brandon Aubrey field goal both in the fourth quarter separated Dallas on the scoreboard for a 33-10 win. The Panthers had threatened at the start of the second half with a touchdown drive that put them within 17-10, but it was all Cowboys the rest of the afternoon. The Cowboys do not have that type of opportunistic defense this season in the first year under Mike Zimmer, and is only further hampered by injuries coming into Week 15 after the devastating loss of Demarvion Overshown last Monday night against the Bengals. It may actually be Dallas’ previous visit to Carolina in 2018 that feels more pertinent to this Sundays. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to the site of the third youngest team in the NFL with the Panthers. Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images In a season opening loss, the Cowboys managed just 232 yards and eight points in a 16-8 defeat. The Cowboys offense crossed into Panthers territory just four times with a punt, missed field goal, and turnover on downs on three of these drives. Allen Hurns had the team’s only reception of 20 yards or more, and Dak Prescott was sacked six times. It was a miserable start to a season where the Cowboys began with a wide-receiver-by-committee approach and lost in Carolina for the first time since a 2003-04 Wild Card game. Jason Garrett’s team, in his eighth season and fourth under offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, would alternate wins and losses starting at 0-1 for the first seven weeks of the season. The week eight bye became a turning point for the season as the Cowboys reacted to not being nearly good enough in the pass game and traded for then-Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper made his debut on a Monday night against the Titans the following week, and despite getting his first receiving touchdown right away, the Cowboys lost their second straight game for the first time all year. It would be their last loss until an ugly Week 15 shutout at the Colts, with former Cowboys coach Matt Eberflus in charge of the Indianapolis defense at the time. Cooper completely changed the tenor of the season and helped the Cowboys reach the Divisional playoffs for the second time under Prescott. If it weren’t for the Cowboys getting shutout for the first three quarters of the season at the Panthers, managing just one Ezekiel Elliott touchdown for the whole game, who knows what happens on the trading block for a team not exactly known for being aggressive in player acquisition. Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images No such in-season saving grace of a trade is coming for the Cowboys in 2024, regardless of what happens against a Dave Canales’ Panthers team playing much better football as of late. Neither is anything close to a trip to the same Divisional round of the playoffs they have been in just once under McCarthy, with a loss at the 49ers. The only thing close to the Cowboys realizing they were not properly equipped at wide receiver in 2018 that’s occurred for this current team is realizing their running-back-by-committee approach was not working to start the season, but this also didn’t come in nearly enough time to save the season. Rico Dowdle has looked much better as the team’s true lead back, and will go for his third straight 100 yard game against a Panthers team that’s allowed 300 more rushing yards than the next worst team in the NFL this season. One team has given up more rushing touchdowns than the Panthers though, and that would be the Cowboys. With no teams on their bye and a slate full of compelling games starting this Sunday, the Cowboys do not find themselves in one of them. Dallas is four games away from having to decide the fate of a fifth-year head coach and second-year play-caller. Based on the futility this team has gone through from the start, the expectation is that a mass exodus of coaches starting with McCarthy at the top is the first thing the front office can do to show they’re serious about proving the 2024 performance is below standards. It will be a change of pace from the long leash the Garrett and Linehan regime received, with the 2018 Amari Cooper season going a long way in at least saving their jobs past that season. The disappointing playoff loss to the Rams in 2018 was the end of Linehan’s time with the team, and missing the playoffs entirely the next season marked Garrett’s last as head coach. The Cowboys must shorten the amount of time it takes them to learn such lessons, with 2024 being a very long lesson in how to set up a team for
3 predicciones para el juego de los Dallas Cowboys contra los Carolina Panthers
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Los Dallas Cowboys juegan contra los Carolina Panthers el Domingo. Los Dallas Cowboys están buscando su primera gana en Diciembre y en Domingo puede encontrar lo en Carolina contra los Panthers. Ahora los Panthers están jugando muy bien y a pesar de los Cowboys falto la semana pasada, ellos también están jugando como un equipo promedio. ¿A que vamos a ver cuando los equipos juegan? Aquí tenemos 3 predicciones para el juego. DaRon Bland tiene su primera interceptación a la temporada Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Ahora DaRon Bland se jugo en 3 juegos para los Cowboys y todavía no tiene un interceptación. En 2023 cuando los Cowboys visito a Carolina, Bland tenía uno que se llevo para un touchdown. Creo que vamos a ver Bland con su primera en este juego. Cooper Rush se van a correr para un touchdown Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images En las mas reciente juegos vimos Cooper Rush corriendo un poquito. Rush no es un quarterback que se corre mucho, pero estamos viendo que cuando la momenta se llama… se puede hacer a que necesita. Los Cowboys están haciendo todo que se puede a ganar y es posible que Rush van a correr para un touchdown contra los Panthers. Hable de este tema en el más reciente video en la canal de YouTube de Blogging The Boys. ¡Subscribir (puede aqui) al canal para ver mas videos de los Dallas Cowboys en Ingles y Español! Mike McCarthy gana un challenge Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Los Cowboys están jugando en una temporada donde cosas al azar están pasando a el equipo. Como cosas están ahorita creo que un cosa loco van a pasar y Mike McCarthy van a necesita tira su challenge. A que mas… McCarthy van a ganar el challenge. Es posible como los Panthers son favoritos que este es el unicó cosa que los Cowboys ganar en Carolina.
Rico Dowdle was always answer at RB, why didn’t the Cowboys know it sooner?
Rico Dowdle was always answer at RB, why didn’t the Cowboys know it sooner? Mike Crum The Dallas Cowboys aren’t mathematically eliminated from the NFL playoffs, but they go into their Week 15 game against the Carolina Panthers needing a miracle to get there. Miracles don’t seem to exist in the 2024 season for Dallas, though. They found a way to lose against the Cincinnati Bengals, and the lowly, three-win Panthers are favored for the first time in their last 33 games. Dallas is in the final stretch of a lousy season that saw their quarterback and many of their young and up and coming stars lost to injuries. They need to keep an eye on the future for these games, even as they refuse to relent on a doomed playoff pursuit. Although not an assured part of the long-term vision originally, Rico Dowdle has recently shown he could be one of those guys. Many will wonder why it took so long for Dowdle to find himself in the role of lead back. It might have been coach’s belief in a committee, the front office wanting Ezekiel Elliott to get touches, or worrying about Dowdle’s workload because of his injury history. He was only given more than 12 attempts once in his first nine games, even though he has been a top-10 rusher in success rate and averaged 4.3 yards per attempt. Still, for the first 11 weeks, he couldn’t even get 50% of the carries. Starting with the game against the Washington Commanders, Dowdle has taken 70% of the carries and produced. He went from averaging 10 attempts and 40 yards per game, to 19 carries for 109 yard averages. He ran for more than 40 yards over expected (RYOE) against both the New York Giants and Cincinnati. Comparing him to Detroit Lions first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs in the last three weeks, Dowdle has more yards rushing, yards after contact, forced missed tackles, and has one less run for 10 or more yards. Only three running backs on the season have a 54% success rate or better and more than 4.5 yards per carry. Dowdle is one; the others are Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. If extrapolated over 17 contests, Dowdle would have rushed for 1,853 yards on 323 attempts and scored six times. With his next matchup is against the Panthers, the team with the worst rushing defense in the NFL, Dowdle has an opportunity to extend his string of superb performances even further. You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or YouTube on the Across the Cowboys Podcast. Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.
Report: Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs will have season-ending surgery
Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images Trevon Diggs’ season is over. The Dallas Cowboys injury bug continues to be a thing. Cornerback Trevon Diggs, who was listed as questionable for the Cowboys Week 15 game against the Carolina Panthers, has been downgraded to out with a knee injury per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He’s not only out for Sunday, but it is being reported that he will have season-ending surgery. Although he spoke this week as though expecting to play tomorrow, #Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs requires knee surgery and is out for the season.A team source says he injured his knee playing Monday night in the loss to the Bengals. His season ends prematurely for 2nd year in row. pic.twitter.com/T0UXWmwyqq — Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) December 14, 2024 Diggs was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, and he didn’t practice at all on Friday. He missed two straight games against the Washington Commanders and New York Giants but returned last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. A source is reporting that Diggs injured his knee during the loss to the Bengals on Monday night. There was hope this week that he was going to play, but we now know how serious the injury is to his knee. Now with Diggs out, the Cowboys will be down four players as Cooper Beebe (concussion), Juanyeh Thomas (knee), and DeMarvion Overshown (injured reserve) are all out.
The stage is set for Rico Dowdle to have a big game against the Carolina Panthers
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Rico Dowdle has a chance to finish the season strong. It took most of the season for the running-back-by-committee experiment to be deemed a failure, but in mid-November, Mike McCarthy finally awarded Rico Dowdle with the lead back title. While there are questions around whether this decision should have been made much earlier, there is no doubt that the running game has greatly improved since making this decision. Better late than never. In Dowdle’s first nine games, he was only averaging around 10 carries per game. Now that he is getting the bulk of the carries (19, 22, and 18 in the past three games respectively), he has proven that he is capable of being a bell cow running back. The running game for the Cowboys has turned into a strength instead of a massive glaring weakness. In the locker room interviews on Wednesday, Dowdle spoke about being able to handle the new workload. “I feel like I could go for another 12 [games]”. It has been pretty natural for him to take on this new role, as he has been a downhill, physical runner since high school. Luckily for the Cowboys, Dowdle has been able to prove that on the field. Dowdle has averaged over 109 yards per game these past three weeks with a season high 7.3 yards per carry last week against the Bengals. Currently, he is sitting at 731 total rushing yards this season and with four games left, he has a real shot at ending the season over the 1000-yard mark. Dowdle is currently on a two-game streak of surpassing 100 yards (112 against the Giants and 131 against the Bengals), and by the looks of things, he has the perfect opportunity to turn it into a three-game streak this weekend against the Carolina Panthers. Let Rico Runpic.twitter.com/NxgCqheZj4 — Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) December 10, 2024 While the Cowboys are preparing for this game in Charlotte, North Carolina this Sunday, Dowdle should be in that running backs room licking his chops watching this Panthers’ running defense on film. The Panthers are dead last in the NFL when it comes to stopping the run. They have allowed 2,211 total rushing yards this season and 170.1 yards per game, both numbers are the worst in the NFL. In fact, there has only been one game this season where they were able to keep an offense under 100 yards. Heading into this game on Sunday, the Panthers are actually favored in this matchup despite being 3-10. The past few games for them have been really tight games against some formidable opponents. The losses they suffered against the Eagles, Buccaneers, and Chiefs were all very close games that could have easily turned in their favor. If the Cowboys want to defy the odds in this matchup, the running game featuring a heavy dose of Rico Dowdle should be a top priority in their game plan.
Cowboys vs Panthers final injury report: 3 from Dallas ruled out, Trevon Diggs still suffering
Perhaps trying not to suffer any last-minute injuries as has happened on more than one occasion this season, the Dallas Cowboys conducted a walk-through on Friday as opposed to a full-on padded practice. The club is reeling, losing players left and right. It’s provided a convenient cover for a season that was headed off the rails even before the ailments began to pile up, which makes the fact that they have won or been competitive for the last month despite not having their franchise quarterback and losing others along the way. The latest is linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who not only will miss Week 15, but the rest of 2024 and likely all of 2025 with a significant explosion of his knee. He’s not the only player set to miss the action against the Carolina Panthers, either. Center Cooper Beebe has been ruled out with concussion symptoms and six members of the Dallas defense have been given questionable game statuses. Here’s a look at the final injury report for Week 15. Dallas Cowboys OUT OC Cooper Beebe, Concussion LB DeMarvion Overshown, Knee Safety Juanyeh Thomas, Knee QUESTIONABLE LB Buddy Johnson, Illness LB Eric Kendricks, Shoulder LB Nick Vigil, Foot CB Trevon Diggs, Knee ST CJ Goodwin, Hamstring CB Jourdan Lewis, Hamstring NO DESIGNATION WR CeeDee Lamb, Shoulder CB DaRon Bland, Foot RB Rico Dowdle, Knee OT Tyler Guton, Ankle DE Marshawn Kneeland, Knee OG Tyler Smith, Ankle DT Mazi Smith, Back Carolina Panthers OUT LB Trevin Wallace, Shoulder QUESTIONABLE RB Raheem Blackshear, Chest OLB Jadeveon Clowney, Knee CB Jaycee Horn, Groin LB Josey Jewell, Hamstring Safety Nick Scott, Hamstring Full Participation – Thursday WR Jalen Coker, Quad CB Caleb Farley, Shoulder Safety Lonnie Johnson, Neck LB DJ Wonnum, Knee
5 things to watch when the Cowboys play the Panthers
Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Here are some things to keep an eye out on when the Cowboys and Panthers face off on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in what looked like an easy game when the schedule came out. The Panthers have struggled to find their footing in the post-Cam Newton era as this year will mark their seventh-straight losing season. The Cowboys are having a losing season themselves and suddenly this game should be closer than we would’ve hoped. Here are five things to keep an eye out for when the Cowboys travel to Charlotte. 1. YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS After being benched early in the season, second-year quarterback Bryce Young has found new life in the Panthers’ offense. Hoping he makes a mistake, defenses are coming after him as he has faced the highest percentage of blitzes since returning to the lineup. But they’re not getting to him as his pressure-to-sack rate is only 10.4% (according to NextGenStats), the fifth-lowest in the league during that span. He’s averaging 7.9 yards per attempt when under pressure, while the Cowboys defense gives up 7.6 yards per attempt under pressure, the third-most in the NFL. That could be a problem. Speaking of returning, no pass rusher has generated more pressures than Micah Parsons since he returned to the lineup in Week 10. Parsons is a restless beast who not only creates pressure but does so in a hurry. His 18 quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds) are also league-best since his return. It should be interesting to see who handles the pressure better as that could loom large in determining the outcome of this game. 2. I GOTTA THIELEN Since trading away D.J. Moore, the Panthers have had trouble finding their alpha receiver. D.J. Chark didn’t work out, Jonathan Mingo didn’t work out (more on that in a minute), and Diontae Johnson didn’t work out. Surprisingly, the team’s most trusted receiver over the last two seasons has been 34-year-old Adam Thielen. A hamstring injury caused him to miss seven games this year, but the veteran receiver is back now and he’s starting to heat up. His last two games include an eight-catch, 99-yard performance against Tampa Bay and nine catches for 102 yards last week against Philadelphia. Thielen had a solid game last year against the Cowboys and he’s been known to put up some big numbers against them. While with the Vikings in 2020, he caught eight passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. It was his best game of the season. The Cowboys just gave up a big game to JaMarr Chase. Don’t be shocked if Thielen is a pesky thorn in the Cowboys’ defense on Sunday. 3. RICO’S ON A ROLL Through the first 10 weeks of the season, the Cowboys didn’t know what they wanted to do at running back. During that span, only once did running back Rico Dowdle have more than a dozen carries in a game. Lately, they have committed to giving Dowdle more touches. Over the last three games, he’s averaging 20 carries for 110 yards at 5.6 yards per carry. Dowdle has also snuck inside the top 10 in yards per carry (4.8) and rushing success rate (54.6%) for the year, ranking eighth in the NFL for running backs in both categories. The Panthers have a horrid run defense. They have allowed a league-worst 170 yards per game this year. Four times this year they’ve surrendered over 200 yards a game, including each of their last two contests. It’s nice to see the Cowboys running game start to gain traction and they should be able to keep that momentum going against the Panthers on Sunday. 4. DON’T BE SO QUICK TO PULL THE TRIGGER With a name like Cooper Rush, it’s only fitting that he’s in a hurry. The Cowboys quarterback likes to get the ball out of his hands quickly. That’s nice when plays have developed, but it can be a bit of a problem when they haven’t. Rush’s internal clock must be loud because he tends to panic amidst the slightest amount of pressure. He releases the ball 0.38 seconds after facing initial pressure according to NextGenStats. That’s the fastest draw this side of the Mississippi (and across the entire NFL). The issue with Rush’s quick trigger is two-fold. First off, he’s going to his checkdowns far too often. This has led to a 4.6 average yards per attempt when pressured, the fourth-worst in the league. Secondly, his frantic passing has produced quite a bit of off-target throws, giving his receivers no chance to make a play. For Rush to be effective, he needs to muster courage and stand in the pocket like a big boy. 5. CAN WE PLEASE GET SOME MINGO? Before the trade deadline, the Cowboys shipped a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Panthers for former 2023 second-round pick Jonathan Mingo. The hope was that a change of scenery would help spark an otherwise underwhelming start to his NFL career. Well, it hasn’t gone well in Dallas. In four games, Mingo has only been targeted 11 times. He has just two catches for 10 yards. Mingo heads back to Carolina in what typically is viewed as a “revenge game” as he faces the team that drafted him. There will be no stellar performance in this one, but for now, we’d settle for a “shoulder shrug” game where he just put together a respectable performance. The Mingo experiment has been a painful one thus far, but if there is any chance of him turning a corner and showing some promise, it needs to happen real soon.
