The Dallas Cowboys failed to achieve a winning record after a disappointing 30-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers. It was a back-and-forth contest that was frustrating thanks to a defense that continued
to struggle and an offense that couldn’t make up the difference. The opportunities were there, but they just didn’t do enough to capitalize on them and came up short in Charlotte. Here are 10 thoughts on this disappointing loss to the Panthers.
1. Another defensive letdown
After a good showing last week, we were all hoping the defense had turned a corner. Nope. It was another long day for this troubled defense. The Panthers put up 410 yards of offense, averaging 6.4 yards per play. While most of the damage came against the Cowboys’ porous run defense, Carolina was able to attack through the air as well. Panthers’ quarterback Bryce Young finished a yard shy of 200 yards, but threw for three touchdowns. The Cowboys’ defense just couldn’t make stops when they needed to.
2. No answer for Rico
Cowboys’ fans know firsthand that Rico Dowdle is a good player, but we couldn’t have prepared ourselves for what we witnessed on Sunday. Against his former team, Dowdle combined for a ridiculous 239 scrimmage yards with 183 of them coming on the ground. He finished with a career-high 30 carries and now has back-to-back 200-yard scrimmage games. It was an impressive showing for Dowdle, who was constantly churning out runs of seven-plus yards, repeatedly putting his team in favorable down and distances. The Cowboys’ run defense looked helpless against the Panthers’ rushing attack with Rico leading the charge.
3. No presence of a running game
Not only could the Cowboys not stop the run in this game, but they couldn’t run it themselves. Dallas had no threat of a rushing attack, finishing with only 31 yards on the ground on 19 attempts at a paltry 1.6 yards per carry. Javonte Williams couldn’t get going as he had his worst game in a Cowboys uniform with 29 yards on 13 carries. The Panthers’ defensive front lived in the backfield, as there were just no space to run. Without the presence of a rushing attack, the Cowboys’ offense became one-dimensional, and it wasn’t enough to get it done.
4. Pickens is a star receiver
The lone bright spot for the Cowboys was how incredible George Pickens looked. The former Steelers’ receiver finished with nine catches for 168 yards and a touchdown. It was his sixth touchdown as a Cowboy, which is more touchdowns than in any of his three seasons with the Steelers. Pickens continues to show that he is the WR1B to CeeDee Lamb’s WR1A and has been everything we could have hoped for in helping the Cowboys’ offense.
5. The rushed snap
The final Cowboys score did not end how we were hoping, as the team had a golden chance to go ahead in the game in the fourth quarter. With first-and-goal from the Panthers’ eight-yard line, the offense was primed to punch it in the end zone. Unfortunately, the Cowboys fumbled the snap, squandering a down. The ball bounced around a bit, but luckily ended up in the arms of Dak Prescott. Two incompletions later, the Cowboys had to settle for a game-tying field goal. What was weird about this was that it looked as if the play clock was winding down; however, the refs were standing in front of Prescott, allowing the Panthers to make substitutions. The Cowboys rushed the snap, but apparently weren’t ready as the ball hit the grass.
6. A dreadful offensive possession
The only thing uglier than the play sequence near the goal line after the fumbled snap was what took place on the Cowboys’ next offensive possession. After the defense made a great stop, forcing a three-and-out that moved the Panthers back two yards, the Cowboys were in a great position to put together a drive for a go-ahead score. They had the ball 1st-and-10 at their own 46-yard line with just over eight minutes left in the game. They were just a hop, skip, and a jump from Brandon Aubrey’s field goal range. What happened next is hard to explain. They ran two consecutive screen passes to Javonte Williams that went for -5 and -7 yards, respectively. Just like that, it was 3rd-and-22, the Cowboys ran a wasteful checkdown to Hunter Luepke, and punted the ball back to the Panthers. The Cowboys’ offense never saw the ball again.
7. Diggs and Dono are just bad
There is a lot of blame to go around on defense, starting with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who is not constructing an effective scheme to give his guys a fighting chance to survive. Better coaching is needed and it is needed in a hurry. That said, the play of Trevon Diggs and Donovan Wilson is particularly embarrassing. Diggs only gives half effort at times, gets beaten routinely, and resorts to grabbing way more than a corner of his caliber should be doing. He’s clearly compensating for a body that just can’t handle regular coverage responsibilities. Wilson also has physical limitations, as any time he’s asked to change direction is a touchdown waiting to happen. These two veteran players should be a net positive, but continue to be a liability on this defense.
8. A weird end to the first half
The first half ended in a weird way as there was a little cat-and-mouse between the coaches. After the Panthers got sloppy with a failed lateral, their offense was behind the sticks, causing Brian Schottenheimer to use his timeouts in hopes of getting one last offensive possession. The Panthers seemed content with running out the clock, but had enough time to complete an eight-yard pass, setting up a 55-yard field goal, which Ryan Fitzgerald knocked down. Then, the Cowboys just opted to kneel down and end the half. It was a weird sequence of plays that ultimately ended with the Panthers coming away with three points, and those three points proved valuable in the end.
9. 4th-and-3 letdown
The Cowboys’ defense didn’t have a lot of stops in them, but late in the fourth quarter, it looked as if they might rise up to the occasion. After a 3rd-and-3 came up empty for Carolina (despite a questionable Trevon Diggs no-call for defensive holding), the defense had a huge chance to come up big at the Cowboys’ 40-yard line. Sadly, it was not meant to be, as Young easily found Hunter Renfrow in a soft cushion for a seven-yard gain, picking up the first down. That proved to be a back-breaker as the Panthers just ran down the clock and kicked the game-winning field goal.
10. Not ready for playoffs
As good as it felt last week to get a convincing win on the road against the Jets, it feels equally disappointing to come up short against the Panthers. Defensively, it was tough to stomach, but even the offense wasn’t up to the task despite putting up 27 points. They had moments, and they have to be ready to be aggressive and make up the slack from a deficient defense. Good is not good enough. Losing this game gives the Cowboys a losing record and shows that this team just isn’t equipped to make a push for the playoffs, especially with tougher opponents looming.
