Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers outlasted the Dallas Cowboys in an offensive showdown, coming away with a 30-27 win.
The Panthers defense took the field first against one of the more intimidating offenses the league has to offer right now. They answered the bell though. They stifled a couple of conservative offensive plays to set up and obvious passing situation on third down, and A’Shawn Robinson got one of his sizeable arms in the passing lane to deflect the ball to the turf and force a quick three and out. That gave the Panthers a chance to take the ball and the lead, and that’s what they did. Rico Dowdle, powered for a few nice chunks and Bryce Young found tight end Mitchell Evans for a big gain down the middle. The drive made it to the red zone, but it stalled there. DeeJay Dallas took a third down carry in relief of Dowdle and was stuffed, and head coach Dave Canales made the decision to kick the short field goal on 4th and 2.
Dallas’s second drive started the same way as the first, but this time they were able to pick up the third down conversion with an intermediate pass to George Pickens. The Cowboys’ best healthy wide receiver made a supremely athletic play a couple plays later, hurdling defenders on his way inside the 20. But, like the Panthers, that’s where the drive stalled. Nick Scott broke up a pass in the end zone to force the Cowboys into their own short field goal.
The Panthers got Tetairoa McMillan involved for the first time in the game on their second drive. The first play was a success, but the second pass hit off his hands and deflected into the air, where it was intercepted and ran back into scoring range. After a few plays, the quarter ended with the Cowboys facing 4th and 1 from the four yard line.
The Cowboys opened the fourth quarter with a standard goal line pick play to score the first touchdown of the game.
The Panthers started the ensuing drive with good field position after Brandon Aubrey’s kickoff sailed past the landing zone and into the end zone. A few more chunk runs by Rico Dowdle and a nice screen pass to Xavier Legette quickly moved Carolina into scoring range. There, Bryce Young was able to find a wide open McMillan in the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown.
It looked like the defense was going to get a quick stop, but they were forced to stay on the field by a somewhat questionable pass interference call on Jaycee Horn. The Cowboys picked up yards in little bits as the defense forced them into multiple third down and one fourth down conversion. Eventually Dak Prescott found a sizeable opening, hitting Jake Ferguson down the seam for a touchdown that put the visitors up 17-10.
The final drive of the half went haywire after some success. Carolina...
