Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys defense having recent success in the past against the Panthers makes Matt Eberflus’ defense look even worse from Sunday.
Dallas couldn’t stop former teammate Rico Dowdle
Rico Dowdle told reporters that the Dallas defense needed to buckle up, but he ran over their car on his way to over 200 yards from scrimmage.
On his 30 runs, the Cowboys‘ 2024 leading rusher ran half of them for at least seven yards. He was handed the ball 30 times for 183 yards for 6.1 yards per attempt. He also led the team with four catches for 56 yards. On 38 rush attempts, Dallas only had two run stops all game.
Dallas allowed another QB to outperform his past
Bryce Young had his highest yards per pass, completion percentage, and quarterback rating of the season and his most yards and touchdown passes since Week 1 when he threw the ball 55 times.
On the year, Young had only completed three passes over 20 yards on 12 attempts, but against Dallas, Young was perfect on all three of those throws. The Panthers leaned on the run, but when Young needed to make a play, he did so all game. He was a perfect 10 out of 10 for 125 yards and three touchdowns with a perfect passer rating when trailing against the Cowboys.
The Cowboys should have a play-caller advantage in most matchups, but anyone calling plays against the Dallas defense is having a good time right now.
Canales Outsmarts Eberflus
While McMillan’s heroics hurt, the real dagger came from Panthers HC and play caller, Dave Canales, who completely outcoached Matt Eberflus for four quarters.
Carolina’s offensive game plan was simple but devastatingly effective: attack the edges, use motion to confuse the linebackers, and mix in well-timed play-action passes to keep the Cowboys guessing.
The result? Running back Rico Dowdle torched Dallas for over 200 scrimmage yards and a touchdown, gashing the defense with both power runs and short receptions out of the backfield.
The Cowboys’ defensive front looked slow to react, and their tackling was sloppy.
Time and again, Canales dialed up the perfect play to counter Eberflus’ calls, whether it was a screen pass against a blitz or a delayed draw against light fronts.
This wasn’t just a bad day at the office. It was a schematic beatdown.
Eberflus’ inability to adjust to what Canales was doing put the Cowboys in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.
Even Pickens’ monster performance wasn’t enough to overcome a defense that looked confused and reactive all game long.
In a league...
