The Dallas Cowboys will head to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday to play the Carolina Panthers. The 1995 expansion Panthers put a hurt on the Cowboys early, beating them
the first two times they squared off, including once in the playoffs back in 1996. But since then, it’s been all Dallas as the Cowboys have dominated Carolina, winning 12 of their last 15 games, including their last three. Strangely, this will make the third straight season the Cowboys travel to Carolina, with the last two ending up in convincing wins for the Cowboys. Let’s hope for a similar result this week. Here are five things to keep an eye on when the Cowboys play the Panthers on Sunday.
1. Stopping Rico
The Cowboys will go against a familiar face in running back Rico Dowdle, who signed a one-year deal with the Panthers this offseason. Fans were conflicted about the team not retaining him after he rushed for 1,079 yards last season after taking over the reins as the lead back in the offense. This season, Dowdle has played second fiddle to Chuba Hubbard, never seeing more than 10 carries in each of the first four games of the season.
However, after a calf injury sideline Hubbard last week, Dowdle took full advantage of his opportunities last Sunday against Miami. The former Cowboys back rushed for a career-high 206 yards on 23 carries at an average of nine yards per attempt. It was quite impressive as Dowdle was not easy to bring down. The Panthers will leverage their running game to keep some pressure off of Bryce Young, and the Cowboys’ defense has shown itself to be gashed against the run at different times. Stopping their old friend from having a solid encore performance will be important for the defense.
2. A breakout for Blue?
Cowboys’ fans aren’t missing Dowdle very much due to the great season Javonte Williams is having. The free agent running back is currently third in the league in rushing yards, second in rushing touchdowns, and nobody has more first downs than he does this season. Expect a heavy dose of Williams in this game.
In typical Cowboys’ fashion, they will attack the rushing defense of their opponent, and Williams will do the heavy lifting, but don’t be surprised if we finally see rookie Jaydon Blue break loose. Last week, he made his NFL debut, and it wasn’t anything to brag about as he only rushed for seven yards on four attempts. While his acclimation into the offense should continue to be a gradual one, all it takes is one crease for Blue to remind fans why they were excited about the pick back in April.
3. No big plays for the rookie WR
As they will be with every game, the Cowboys’ defense will be on big-play alert as they try to keep opposing offenses from torching the secondary. They were hit hard in consecutive weeks against the Giants, Bears, and Packers, but showed a lot of improvement last week against the Jets. The defense would love to build on this success and keep the Panthers’ passing attack in front of them.
Carolina’s biggest weapon is rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was the highest-selected wide receiver in the draft, taken eighth overall. Cowboys’ fans know McMillan all too well as he was one of the team’s top targets in the draft and likely would have been their first-round selection had he still been there. The rookie is off to a good start to his NFL career as he has 24 catches for 351 yards, but has yet to find the end zone. The Panthers have a handful of receiving targets who can move the sticks, but TMac is their most talented option. Keeping him from having a big day will help build some confidence that the Cowboys’ secondary is moving in the right direction.
4. Make Bryce pay the price
The first overall pick in 2023, the Panthers’ franchise quarterback has had a rocky start to his career. After a modest rookie season, Bryce Young struggled early last season and was benched in Week 3 in favor of veteran backup Andy Dalton. Young was eventually reinstated as the starter midway through the season, and his play improved. This season, he’s picked up where he left off, playing okay at times, but still showing how much he has to learn.
Young has thrown four interceptions this year to go along with three fumbles. When he gets rattled, mistakes can just roll off his fingertips. The Cowboys’ defense must create pressure and force him into situations where he can be a little reckless with the ball. Last week, the pass rush of the Cowboys showed some life when they were constantly in the face of Jets quarterback Justin Fields. A similar showing against the Panthers’ young quarterback would be nice.
5. Full throttle
The Cowboys are one of the top scoring teams in the league. The Panthers are a middle-of-the-road defense. The offense should be able to put up some points, but it’s important they strike early and strike often. That hasn’t been their forte so far this season, as the Cowboys’ offense only averages 2.6 points in the first quarter. Only the Saints and Titans have fewer.
While the offense does pick up in a big way in the second quarter (the highest scoring second quarter team in the NFL), they need to be careful and not allow this one to come down to the wire. The Panthers showed great resilience last week against the Dolphins, overcoming a 17-0 deficit to pull out the victory late. The Cowboys must get ahead early and put this one away, similar to what they did last week against the Jets. They don’t want to open the door for some defensive mishap to end up costing them late in the game.