CeeDee Lamb heard that the Carolina Panthers were favorites to win against the Dallas Cowboys for the first time in nearly two years, but he and the Cowboys proved the predictions wrong.
“It was brought up,” Lamb said with a big smile. “You’re not oblivious to what is being said about your team. … Shoutout to whoever thought the Panthers were going to win, but they got this one wrong.”
The Cowboys made sure to make their statement. Cooper Rush threw for 214 yards and a career-high three touchdown passes, while Dallas forced four turnovers from Bryce Young and sacked him six times, leading to a dominant 30-14 win over the Panthers. This was their third win in the last four games.
Lamb, who played through shoulder soreness, had nine catches for 116 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown reception. Rico Dowdle ran for a career-high 149 yards on 25 carries, becoming the first undrafted running back to rush for over 100 yards in three straight games since Arian Foster in Houston.
The Cowboys outgained the Panthers 410-235. Bryce Young, who had shown improvement in recent weeks, completed 19 of 28 passes for 219 yards and had a career-long 83-yard touchdown throw to rookie Jalen Coker. He also ran for a score, but he fumbled twice and threw two interceptions. This dropped his record to 4-21 as an NFL starter.
The Cowboys’ defense stepped up, even after losing cornerback Trevon Diggs to a season-ending injury earlier in the week and suffering a tough loss to the Bengals. They shut down the Panthers, allowing just 1 yard in the third quarter.
“It says that we are not going to give up,” said edge rusher Micah Parsons, who had two sacks. “As long as I’m a part of this unit and we believe in each other. We are fighting for each other at this point. The record is the record, but it’s a special feeling when you can fight for each other.”
Parsons mentioned that the Cowboys’ main goal was to shut down Chuba Hubbard, and they succeeded, holding Carolina’s 1,000-yard rusher to just 32 yards on 10 carries. The Panthers allowed six sacks, the most they’ve given up this season.
“When they put us in this mode where we have to play behind, where we have to throw the ball and flip the field to score some points, we were playing into their hands,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “Certainly put us in a brand of football that we don’t really want to play.”
Cooper Rush, filling in for injured starter Dak Prescott, has continued to show improvement. After punting on their first two possessions, the Cowboys scored on six of their next eight. The only exceptions were Rush’s turnover deep in Panthers territory and a missed 70-yard field goal attempt by Brandon Aubrey at the end of the first half.
Lamb had eight catches for 104 yards in the first half as Dallas led 10-0. Late in the second quarter, it seemed the Cowboys were about to extend their lead, but Rush mishandled a snap and fumbled at the Panthers’ 17-yard line. On the next play, Young threw a career-long 83-yard touchdown pass to Coker, pulling the Panthers to within three points with just 31 seconds left.
That would be the closest the Panthers would get.
The third quarter was all Cowboys. Osa Odighizuwa forced a fumble on Young during Carolina’s first possession of the second half, and the Cowboys capitalized with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Rush to Jalen Tolbert, putting them ahead 17-7.
Later, Rush added another touchdown pass, this time a 17-yard throw to Jalen Brooks, marking the first touchdown of his career.
“Cooper, I thought his touchdown throws were huge,” said coach Mike McCarthy. “He extended the one play and hit JT in the corner of the end zone and that was a huge, huge play.”
Despite the struggles, Canales confirmed that Young will remain Carolina’s starting quarterback next week and said he didn’t see any issues with his QB’s confidence.
“He had a good look in his eyes,” Canales said. “I was looking forward to continuing being aggressive and finding those opportunities down the field.”
