DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys rode a strong second half surge to hang the first loss of the season on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The 36-28 final score brought Dallas’ winning streak to three games.
The Cowboys are starting to display continuity each week as a team that wins with an efficient offense that can beat teams through the air or take over running the ball. Meanwhile, the defense continues to produce timely turnovers to turn the tide.
Sunday’s game against a stout Carolina defense showed that teams are having to pick their poison against Dallas. So far, the teams that have demanded that the Cowboys beat them with the running game, instead of Dak Prescott’s arm, have not fared well. The Panthers were the latest to find that out the hard way.
This game was supposed to be strength versus strength. Carolina had the No. 1 defense across the board so far this season. Second year coach Matt Rhule’s crew came in tops in total yards, as well as best individually against the run and pass. However, the Panthers had not played against a team with the caliber of offense that Dallas enjoys. With their chance to make a statement, the results were not kind to Carolina.
The Cowboys pounded the ball for 245 yards on the ground, 200 more than the Panthers were giving up coming into the game.
The Dallas ground game displayed absolute domination in the trenches as the tandem of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard ran wild again. For a third straight week, the RB duo surpassed 155 yards rushing, totaling 210 yards on the ground while averaging close to seven yards per carry.
Elliott secured his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, posting 143 yards and a score. It was one of Elliott’s better games in some time as he garnered flashbacks to his first few years in the league while he ripped off big runs to gash the Carolina defensive front.
The Dallas offense took what the defense gave them and Prescott wasn’t tasked to throw much, but the franchise QB responded by making the most of his opportunities. The Cowboys exploited an aggressive Panthers defense by attacking the linebackers and finding their open tight ends. Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz both scored touchdowns, and Schultz caught six balls for 58 yards to lead the team in receptions.
Prescott threw four touchdowns on just 14 completions as the Cowboys had the luxury of working with short fields in the second half. It was in those final 30 minutes where the Cowboys asserted their dominance.
Early in the game, Panthers receiver D.J. Moore was running free and the Dallas defense made quarterback Sam Darnold look like the second coming of Michael Vick with his ability to slip free for big gains on the ground. After failing to slow the Carolina duo of Darnold and Moore in the first half, the defense took over in the final two quarters.
After trailing 14-13 at the half, the Dallas defense started to overwhelm the Carolina offensive line. Dan Quinn’s group up front came away with four sacks, including two from Randy Gregory, and a combined three more from rookie defenders Micah Parsons, Osa Odighizuwa, and Chauncey Golston.
However, the big hero on defense, once again, was cornerback Trevon Diggs. For the second time in the last two games, Diggs swung the momentum with an interception. With the Cowboys leading 26-14, Diggs picked off a Darnold pass, and the offense cashed in with seven points on a Prescott to Cedrick Wilson score to go up 33-14.
It took three plays for Diggs to back up his first interception as he collected his second of the game to halt Carolina’s chances of clawing back. The NFC Defensive Player of the Month of September now has an interception in each of the four games this season and five total on the year.
Following Diggs’ second INT, the Cowboys kicked a field goal on the first play of the final quarter and essentially sealed the game with a 22-point lead. Good teams score points off turnovers and the Cowboys took over the game with ten extra points after forcing two on the other side of halftime.
If this was a measuring stick game for the Cowboys, they answered the bell. Beating a team that was 3-0 and imposing their will on the best early-season defensive team in football was no fluke. Dallas has had a strong start to the season and the win over the Panthers reinforced how good they have been through four games.
The Cowboys dominated a team in their conference for the second consecutive week and now have a record of 3-1, remaining on top of the NFC East.
The quarterback is in complete control, the running game is pounding opponents, and Dallas’ defense continues to get turnovers. It’s a winning formula for a team that took the steps needed to prove that they can be legitimate contenders.
What are you gloating about today after the Cowboys pinned a loss on the Panthers on Sunday? Share your best bragging with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.