Cat Scratch Reader
The Panthers are hoping to get their first win in 4 weeks against a struggling Cowboys offense.
The Carolina Panthers defense continues to be the weakness of this team. However, they’ve shown up to play the last 3 weeks in games where many expected them to get shredded. They are still one of the worst rushing defenses in the league, but they’ve managed to clamp down as a defense and not make it easy for the playoff contenders they’ve faced in the last several weeks. This time around, they’ll face a Cowboys team clinging to life, with backup QB Cooper Rush being a nice reprieve from facing the top tier QBs the Panthers defense has over the last 3 weeks of moral victories. Let’s dive in.
Panthers CB Jaycee Horn is currently day to day on the injury report after hurting his hamstring last week. He practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday but his suiting up this week is certainly not guaranteed. If he cannot suit up on Sunday, CBs Mike Jackson, Dane Jackson, rookie Chau Smith-Wade, and likely depth pieces Shemar Bartholomew and Caleb Farley would be in line for significant snaps. The Cowboys best asset on offense at this point is WR CeeDee Lamb, who is 27 yards away from a 1,000 yard receiving season despite the Cowboys’ woes at QB since the injury to Dak Prescott. He will almost certainly eclipse that number against Carolina, by how much depends on the defensive game plan and if this group can rise to the occasion.
As the season has warn on, RB Rico Dowdle has started to take over the Cowboys backfield, coming off two straight 100 yard performances and carrying the ball at least 18 times on the ground in their last 3. He has supplanted former Cowboys great Ezekiel Elliott as the primary back for the team (something I predicted in fantasy before trading him away!). This looks like another juicy matchup for the 4th year undrafted free agent, and he would be a major boon for a potential Cowboys victory on Sunday. While the Panthers as a team have played extremely well for the last several weeks, the rush defense continues to be their biggest weakness and I do not believe that’s going to change in the final four weeks of the season. Still, they can certainly mitigate his effectiveness by creating as many negative plays as possible on early downs.
The Panthers have somehow managed to add “sacks” back to their defensive vocabulary over the last few weeks, as the return of DJ Wonnum has given them a shot in the arm. Still, the majority of their sacks have come from the scheme, as Ejiro Evero has called creative coverage plays that allow the front seven time to close in on the quarterback on their blitzes and contain. They still struggle to create immediate pass...
