ARLINGTON, Texas – Following an impressive 36-28 win over the undefeated Carolina Panthers at high noon, the Dallas Cowboys advance to 3-1. After a rocky start to the ballgame, the Cowboys’ surge of dominance in the third quarter rallied the team to victory in front of a sellout home crowd. The rest of the NFL is now on notice: the team is a contender.
The Panthers and Cowboys went toe-to-toe in the first half, until the Cowboys pulled away in the third with 21 unanswered points and two interceptions by Trevon Diggs to shift the momentum. Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes in the third quarter alone. He completed 14 of 22 attempts for 188 passing yards and threw four total touchdowns for a passer rating of 130.3 to conclude the matchup.
The Cowboys ground game was the true offensive firepower. No individual player had surpassed 25 rushing yards against the Panthers’ stout run defense through the first three games of the season, but Ezekiel Elliott plowed his way to 143 yards on the ground. Behind Dallas’ run blockers, the Cowboys rushed for 245 yards. Elliott spearheaded the unit through the tackles and complementary back Tony Pollard added another 67 to the mix with his shiftiness in space.
The offense garnered a lot of praise in facing the Panthers’ top ranked defense, but Dan Quinn’s revamped unit deserves lavish praise. The group flew to the football and relentlessly pursued quarterback Sam Darnold. Randy Gregory led the way with two sacks and four quarterback hits. Rookies Chauncey Golston and Osa Odighizuwa combined with a sack, a result of their interior penetration. Micah Parsons posted a sack of his own to continue his ascending career and Trevon Diggs now has five interceptions in the last four games with two against Carolina.
First Quarter:
On the Cowboys’ second possession of the game, the team established the running game. Dallas ran the ball eight times on a nine-play drive – culminating in an Ezekiel Elliott one-yard touchdown rush. Elliott displayed decisiveness and power through the tackles and notched 35 yards on four carries. Prescott even threw in a 15-yard scramble of his own. It did not take long for Dallas to carve up an indestructible Panthers’ unit.
However, Carolina responded by marching down the field for a score. Sam Darnold connected with D.J. Moore three times for 47 yards, that set up Darnold’s touchdown rush. On an option play, he cut inside on a one-yard dash to tie the ballgame, 7-7.
Second Quarter:
The Cowboys got lucky on the next series. On a drive that began late in the first quarter, Dalton Schultz appeared to lose the football several times, but in both instances, he was ruled down before losing possession of the football. The Cowboys managed to stay afloat, and Blake Jarwin reached the end zone for the first time in 2021 with an 18-yard touchdown catch. Schultz then fell short of the end zone on the two-point attempt, to make it a 13-7 score.
The Panthers’ next possession was a microcosm of the Cowboys’ struggles to begin the NFC showdown. The opponent faced third-and-12 and third-and-11 during their march down the field and converted on both. That resulted in Darnold rushing for another touchdown. He took a quarterback draw 11 yards up the middle for a touchdown. With the extra point, Carolina took the lead into halftime, 14-13.
Third Quarter:
The tide turned in the Cowboys favor. By the end of the third, the fate was in their hands and the victory in the bag. The Panthers missed a 54-yard field goal which set up good field position for the Cowboys. Four plays later, America’s Team was celebrating in the end zone.
Elliott fought for yards and on three-straight plays ran for 21 yards to set up favorable matchups in the passing game. Prescott connected with Amari Cooper down the sideline on a 35-yard pass/catch for the touchdown. Prescott hit Cooper in stride and despite sticky coverage, he hauled it in.
The next series, history repeated itself. In four plays, the Cowboys had extended their lead. Elliott did the heavy lifting and quickly burst to the second level after a quick cut to the right sideline for a 47-yard gain. He brought the Cowboys to the six-yard line. The Cowboys missed the two-point attempt but held the lead, 26-14.
Then, the remarkable happened at the hands of Diggs. He picked off Darnold in each of the Panthers’ next two series – the second multi-interception game of his career. His two against Carolina brought his streak to five in four games. Diggs becomes only the second player in team
history and only the 17th in league record books since the NFL merger to intercept five passes in four games. The first, led to Cedrick Wilson’s 23-yard touchdown catch.
Diggs was named the NFL Defensive Player for the Month of September and following the game, Mike McCarthy said he is “working on player of the month No.2.”
Fourth Quarter:
After Diggs’ second interception, the Cowboys worked their way down the field to set up Greg Zuerlein’s 37-yard field goal on the first snap of the fourth quarter. The Cowboys extended their lead 36-14 but when the game seemed over in favor of the Cowboys, the Panthers came back with 14 unanswered points of their own.
The Panthers responded with a 75-yard drive to the end zone, capped with a six-yard completion to Ian Thomas for the touchdown. That was followed up by another score for Carolina. On a seven-play, 80-yard drive, Darnold threw an eight-yard pass to Moore with a little over four and a half minutes on the clock.
However, Kellen Moore’s creative play sealed the win at AT&T Stadium. On third-and-one, Prescott handed the ball to Elliott who then pitched the ball to Pollard, resulting in a five-yard gain for the first down.
