5 big talking points from Carolina Panthers’ loss at the Cowboys in Week 4
By Luke Gray
Carolina Panthers’ defense got punched in the mouth
Much was made in the buildup to this clash about how the Carolina Panthers No. 1 ranked defense would hold up against a stellar Dallas Cowboys offense. Well, they failed miserably.
Dak Prescott threw for four touchdowns and more concerningly, Carolina’s run defense had been lights out through three games was non-existent.
The Panthers had averaged just 45 rushing yards against per game, against Dallas they gave up 245 yards, 143 of those to Ezekiel Elliott who averaged more than seven yards a carry and found holes at will throughout the game.
Dallas is a very good team and Prescott is an elite quarterback. The Panthers won’t face much better quality on offense this season, so it’s important Phil Snow and his unit dust themselves off and go again next week against the 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles.
Coming up against a unit with the quality of Dallas the Panthers picked a bad time to lose two important starters on defense in Juston Burris and Jaycee Horn. We saw bits of C.J. Henderson after he was traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the cornerback was beaten on a deep ball for a touchdown to stud wide receiver, Amari Cooper.
It’s important to not look too much into Henderson’s performance. Cooper is an elite wideout and he only arrived on Monday giving the player just five days to learn the playbook.
Expect this Panthers defense to come roaring back at home next week against respectfully a weaker Eagles offense.