Blogging The Boys
We are getting closer to football season.
By the time the Dallas Cowboys face the Carolina Panthers in Week 6, we will have gotten an extended look at the team versus the NFC East and the NFC North, games that are important for conference seeding as it relates to the playoffs. While five games do not make a season, they will give us a barometer of what the team is capable of against good teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, and whether they can handle developing teams like the Chicago Bears and New York Jets.
Carolina is a team that is rebuilding, but there is a renewed energy around the team, thanks to how they finished the season under new head coach Dave Canales. Carolina lost seven of their first 8 games in 2024 and were outscored by their opponents 124-271 in those contests. Former first overall pick Bryce Young was benched after two games but managed to regain the starting job in Week 7 and looked like a new man. He had confidence, he had accuracy, and most of all, the team had belief. Carolina would lose three consecutive one-score games against the Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas City Chiefs, all playoff teams, at the tail end of the season. Carolina is a spunky, resilient group with a lot to prove. Here are three players who could come up big versus Dallas when the least expect it.
Here’s a name that Cowboys fans may vaguely recognize. Mike Jackson was a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys back in 2019 out of the University of Miami. Although Jackson was released during final cuts of his rookie season, the team liked him enough to keep him on the practice squad until he was signed to the active roster by the Detroit Lions. For a time, Jackson bounced around the NFL until he found a home with the Seattle Seahawks. While Jackson did play well with his opportunities, he was buried too far on the depth chart behind players like Tariq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon to see adequate playing time. Fast forward to 2024: Jackson is named the starting cornerback for the Carolina Panthers opposite of Jaycee Horn and has his best season as a pro.
Per PFF, he ranked tenth among qualified cornerbacks in solo tackles with 67 and ranked seventh in receptions allowed. Furthermore, Jackson had 17 passes defended, which was tied for third in the league last season. He looks every bit the part of somebody who has had to claw his way to stay in the NFL, let alone be in a starting lineup, and it shows in how he plays. He aggressively plays the ball through the hands of wide receivers to dislodge the ball at the catch point. He’s chippy and he fits exactly what Panthers defensive coordinator Eviro Evero wants from his cornerbacks. While in terms of talent, the Cowboys still have the advantage at wide receiver, Jackson has...
