Panthers face America’s Team
by Sharon Thorsland
After three straight close losses, the Panthers are looking to get over the hump when they take on the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium. The Cowboys are also looking to get back in the win column after suffering a controversial loss to the Bengals on Monday Night Football, that dropped them to 5-8 on the season.
The Cowboys have suffered multiple injuries to key players this season, most notably quarterback Dak Prescott. Cooper Rush has taken over, and while he’s no game changer, he’s been getting the ball to his play makers, starting with All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb. The veteran ranks third in the NFL with 973 receiving yards and has five touchdowns. He teams with 11-year veteran Brandin Cooks, and keep on eye on speedster Kavontae Turpin – he’s averaging over 13 yards a catch and also leads the NFL in kickoff return yards. Running the ball has been a problem for Dallas, they rank 28th in the league averaging just 91 yards per game. That’s good news for the Panthers, who have struggled to stop the run, ranking dead last in the league in rushing yards allowed. Former South Carolina standout Rico Dowdle teams with All-Pro Ezekiel Elliott, who’s back in Dallas after a season with the Patriots.
The Cowboys do have an excellent pass rush, they’re ninth in the NFL with 36 sacks. Star edge rusher Micah Parsons has six and a half of those, in spite of missing four games with an ankle injury. Parsons is just one of the key defensive players who has missed significant time this season. Fellow All-Pro defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has been on IR since breaking his foot in week, and All-Pro cornerbacks Daron Bland and Trevon Diggs have also missed time. And starting linebacker DeMarvion Overshown went down Monday night with a knee injury. Parsons is the star of the defense though, he can line up in multiple positions and the Panthers will need to know where he is at all times. Diggs and Bland are both back in the lineup now, they team with safeties Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, they’ve combined for three interceptions.
After being so close the last three week, the Panthers really want to get over the hump and win this week. “Finish” has been the word of the week in the locker room, and the Panthers have a good chance to do just that against a dinged up Cowboys team. “We go to finish,” said edge rusher DJ Johnson. “We got to play better, we got to execute better and finish.”