4 major factors to blame for Carolina Panthers’ loss at the Cowboys in Week 4
By Dean Jones
Another 3rd quarter implosion from the Carolina Panthers
It appears as if last week’s strong third quarter at the Houston Texans was just a bump in the road.
Normal service resumed in Week 4 at the Dallas Cowboys.
The Carolina Panthers came out sluggish and paid the price. They got away with this mentality over the first two games, but Dallas is a far sterner proposition and punished them accordingly.
Carolina was outscored 20-0 in the third quarter. Sam Darnold threw two costly interceptions and Phil Snow’s league-leading defense looked a far cry from that as they were torched on numerous occasions.
Much like the offensive line, this is nothing new.
Just why things aren’t getting better is another matter entirely.
Whether it’s adjustments at the half or a lack of motivation is unclear. However, if things continue like this for much longer the potential to wreck the season is more than evident.
There’s no excuse for this.
Carolina had extra time to prepare for whatever the Cowboys were going to throw at them and the coaching staff need to learn how to react to basic situational football at the earliest possible opportunity.
The fight displayed in the fourth quarter was encouraging. But they just left themselves too much to do after the third.