Nothing to get upset about this ‘upset’

The Panthers might need been three-point favorites, however I do not assume anybody thought Carolina was a area purpose higher than Dallas – on today, or any day this season, or the previous few years, for that matter. Positive, the Cowboys have had a troublesome 12 months, but it surely’s to not that degree.

For me, this recreation was all about if the Cowboys have been going to reply the precise approach following a demoralizing loss to the Bengals that every one however the shut the door on any likelihood of constructing the playoffs.

So now you go to Carolina, the place it is the coldest recreation of the season, to face a Panthers staff that is not actually profitable however is enjoying exhausting and enjoying groups significantly better than the Cowboys to a better rating.

The celebrities have been aligning for the Panthers to return out and recover from the hump and win this recreation and beat a Dallas staff that may’t catch a break in relation to accidents.

I heard an important analogy earlier than the sport, one thing we’ll see quite a bit over the subsequent two weeks. That video games like this are just like the school bowl video games. Typically it simply comes all the way down to which staff is happier to be there, or on this case which staff has extra want to win.

However then, like with every part in sports activities, it nonetheless comes all the way down to expertise, and extra particularly, the quantity of playmakers a staff has. The Cowboys had significantly better gamers regardless of dropping a key participant seemingly each week – this time it is Trevon Diggs for the season.

However they nonetheless had CeeDee Lamb, who’s enjoying via a shoulder damage and nonetheless was the most effective offensive participant on the sphere.

The Cowboys nonetheless had Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa on protection with Parsons getting one other multi-sack recreation. To me, although, Osa’s sack and compelled fumble on the primary play of the third quarter was the distinction – and put a cease to any false hope the Panthers might need needed to win this recreation popping out of halftime.

Let’s be sincere, the Cowboys ended the primary half in a really 2024-ish approach – simply a type of “Are you kidding me?” sort finishes the place Cooper Rush fumbled the ball with an opportunity to go up both 13-0 or 17-0. As an alternative, the Panthers not solely get the ball, however then a bust in protection offers Carolina an 83-yard landing to shockingly keep within the recreation down simply 10-7.

And to get the ball to start out the third quarter, the Panthers had an opportunity to capitalize, however Osa’s sack on the primary play, which resulted in a fumble restoration, was the wakeup name Dallas wanted. The Cowboys acquired the ball again, scored on a landing move to Jalen Tolbert, adopted that with one other cease and one other rating, and it is 24-7, the place it must be.