DALLAS — Week 11 has arrived in the NFL and for the Dallas Cowboys that means preparing for a road trip to play the Carolina Panthers. On paper this is a major mismatch, the Cowboys are 6-3 and playing some of their best football, while the Panthers are a league-worst 1-8.
However, no team should be taken lightly, as the Cowboys can attest to after Week 3 when they played a team that they should have beaten only to suffer their first loss of the season to the Arizona Cardinals. That week was one to forget but Mike McCarthy’s squad would be wise to remember it to avoid a similar outcome.
Dallas shouldn’t have trouble beating an overmatched Panthers team trying to find their way with rookie quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina is going back to head coach Frank Reich calling the offense just a few weeks after giving up those duties. It’s clear that they’ve got some things to figure out. The Cowboys are hoping it doesn’t click in this week for Young and the Panthers’ offense.
Here are the keys to beating the Panthers in Week 11:
Confuse the young quarterback
For the second consecutive week, the Cowboys will be playing against a rookie QB, but this one comes with a tad more pedigree. Young was the first player taken in the draft, but the Alabama product is struggling as most first-year QBs do in the NFL.
That bodes well for a Cowboys defense that is among the best in the league at taking the ball away. Dan Quinn’s defense is tied for sixth in interceptions with 10, while Young has thrown seven picks.
Young has also been sacked more in the last four contests than he was in the first five weeks of the season, a sign that things haven’t come together yet for the rookie.
The Panthers have struggled on offense recently, scoring under 14 points per game in their last three games. The Cowboys should be able to pressure Young into some mistakes and give their offense more opportunities to score points with short field position.
Find efficiency on the ground
The Cowboys haven’t run the ball well for most of the year, but things started to come together last week when the team ran for 168 yards and over five yards per carry. The splitting of carries between starting RB Tony Pollard and backup Rico Dowdle could continue, which would benefit the offense.
Carolina’s run defense ranks 26th in the league, giving up almost 132 yards per game on the ground, and has allowed the second-most rushing scores at 15.
It doesn’t need to be a run-first offense, but if the Cowboys can get the running game to match what the passing attack is doing, McCarthy’s unit could elevate to the upper echelon in the league. The rushing attack must keep improving and this is another week where Dallas can be efficient on the ground against a poor run defense.
Stay aggressive on offense
After a slow start, the Cowboys’ offense has begun to take their place among the best in the league. In their three games since the bye week, the Cowboys are averaging almost 40 points and are showing signs of being the explosive unit that they had been over the last few seasons.
McCarthy is getting some of the best football out of quarterback Dak Prescott and his offense by using pre-snap motion and shifts at a higher rate than earlier in the season. The Cowboys are also throwing more on early down and distances to gain big chunks of yards.
Despite their record, the Panthers don’t have a bad defense, and it’s a unit that plays better at home. Carolina has the sixth best passing defense in the league, so they’ll be a test for a red-hot passing attack.
Stay disciplined
The Cowboys are the most penalized team in the league, tying the Cardinals with 69 infractions on the season. However, the Cardinals have played one more game than Dallas, giving the Cowboys the dubious honors. Those penalty issues have been even more glaring in road contests.
Committing nine penalties in any game is a recipe for disaster, but it’s harder to overcome when you’re on the road. The Cowboys had 13 penalties in the loss to the Cardinals, and 10 more in the loss to the Eagles. In their other loss, the Cowboys had the same number of infractions (6), but for more yards against than the 49ers.
Playing more disciplined is still something the Cowboys struggle with but playing cleaner football remains one of the ways an overmatched team like the Panthers can pull off the upset. The more penalties the Cowboys have, the greater the chance the Panthers can take advantage.
Dallas doesn’t need to give life to a team that’s struggling to figure things out so keeping the flags in the pocket of the refs, instead of on the field, should be a priority for the Cowboys in Week 11.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to start a winning streak in Week 11? Share your predictions with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.