CHARLOTTE – It probably didn’t register as a big deal to anyone outside Charlotte, but for Carolina Panthers fans, replacing the NFL shield with the team’s fanged black-and-blue logo at the 50-yard line in Bank of America Stadium actually has symbolic weight.
It was something new owner David Tepper had promised, and given the scandal-ridden end to the Jerry Richardson era, it was at the very least a tangible representation of the Panthers’ fresh start.
Tepper’s first game as owner yielded something else: A 16-8 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in which the Panthers’ highly-regarded defense was as advertised.
Carolina held Dallas to just 60 yards in the first half and 232 for the game. The Panthers, who didn’t have the services of tight end Greg Olsen for most of the game due to a foot injury, didn’t generate a lot of sustained drives themselves.
But they were able to grab a lead 8:50 before halftime, taking advantage of a 30-yard punt return by Damiere Byrd that put them at the Cowboys’ 35-yard line. Christian McCaffrey, who had fumbled away a red zone scoring opportunity in the first quarter, came back strong with four carries covering 26 yards, setting up quarterback Cam Newton four-yard touchdown run. Carolina then added a field goal for a 10-0 lead. It never felt as if Dallas, which didn’t even cross midfield in the first half, had enough offensive punch to threaten Carolina after that.
Three other things we learned from Cowboys-Panthers:
Cam leads the way
Though he didn’t put up splashy numbers, Newton seemed totally in command of what was going on and had very few mistakes to nitpick. Newton finished 17-of-26 passing and was also Carolina’s leading rusher with 58 yards on 13 carries. Given the way Carolina’s defense played, Newton took very few risks down the field and did what he needed to do. In the end, he yielded the game to the Panthers’ defense, which stopped the Cowboys on a fourth down just past midfield with 2:18 left and then once more when they got the ball back with 1:51 remaining. The game ended when Panthers defensive end Mario Addison chased down quarterback Dak Prescott and forced a fumble that Carolina recovered to run out the clock.
Prescott/Elliot combo silent
The Cowboys are banking a lot of their future on the potential of Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, who slumped as sophomores after leading Dallas to the NFC’s best record as rookies. Their third year is going to be highly scrutinized, and it didn’t get off to a great start. After an ineffective first half, Elliott (15 carries, 69 yards) finally got loose in the fourth quarter, scoring the Cowboys’ touchdown with 8:51 remaining. Then Prescott (19-for-29, 170 yards) converted the ensuing two-point conversion, running it in from an empty backfield that had the defense spread out.
That 10-play, 75-yard drive was by far Dallas’ best and featured a variety of run-pass option plays that take advantage of Prescott’s skillset. But for much of the game, the Cowboys simply looked lost and couldn’t add any explosive plays to the nickle-and-dime stuff the Panthers were giving them underneath.
Missing Dan Bailey
The Cowboys’ controversial decision to cut their longtime kicker right before the season came back to bite them. Despite stalling on their first drive deep into Carolina territory, they had an opportunity late in the third quarter to get back within one possession on a 47-yard field goal and perhaps grab some momentum going into the fourth. It was also a chance for new kicker Brett Maher, who has spent nearly all of his career in the Canadian Football League, to establish his NFL bona fides. Instead, Maher’s kick sailed wide right and the Panthers marched 63 yards the other way in six plays to take a 16-0 lead. Bailey was due to make a lot of money ($3.4 million), but cutting him might also be costly.
