Initial Thoughts on Panthers' Loss to Cowboys
The Panthers were at home on Sunday as the surging Dallas Cowboys came to town. Carolina kept things relatively close in the first half despite a slew of penalties, but the Cowboys pulled away in the fourth quarter on their way to a 33-10 victory.
Below are some thoughts following the game:
The defense's aggression turned reckless far too often in the first half.
Winning in the NFL is not easy, and its even more difficult when a team gets in their own way in the process.
The Panthers may not have been out of reach at the half, but the 17-3 frankly should have been closer. Sadly for a defensive unit that obviously came out with a fire lit underneath them, they did not rein it in when they needed to.
Following a kickoff that went out of bounds from Eddy Pineiro, multiple unnecessary roughness penalties from Carolina left the door open for the Dallas offense to sneak in a second touchdown right before halftime.
The eight penalties for 90 yards on the day were unacceptable. When your team is a home underdog, with a rookie quarterback and a single win on the season, you are not afforded the opportunity for such a margin for era.
The touchdown drive in the fourth quarter was an awesome glimpse into the potential of the offense.
Down 17-3 in the third quarter, the Panthers offense developed some fantastic momentum throughout a 17-play, 70-yard drive that lasted nearly nine minutes.
In this drive, the Panthers converted three fourth-down conversions, Bryce Young and Adam Thielen's connection shined extra bright, and the unit was fighting like they were not ready to give up.
There was poise, cohesion, and consistency shown by a unit that has not been able to produced very many of those types of drives this season.
The energy in the stadium and by the team during this drive was absolutely undeniable. Frank Reich and Thomas Brown's offense did not want to give up. Carolina may have been outmatched in the end, but both sides of the ball showed a fantastic peek into the potential of this 1-9 team.
The wins might not come this year, but if the team can capture more of those moments where the energy, execution, and talent all meet, they will definitely start to come eventually.
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