Inside the Numbers: Panthers at Cowboys Game Preview

The Panthers are set to face their stiffest challenge yet when they head to Dallas this Sunday to take on the Dallas Cowboys. Heading into week four, the Panthers sit atop the NFC South standings with a 3-0 record but the national media is divided on whether or not this team is for real or not. Defeating the high-powered offense of the Cowboys would certainly gain the attention of the NFL and would certainly make them contenders in the NFC.

What can we expect in Sunday's showdown in Dallas? Let's break it down.

When the Panthers have the ball

Panthers Offense	Stats	Cowboys Defense
390.3 (10th)	Total Yards Per Game/Allowed	402.0 (T-26th)
105.7 (T-14th)	Rushing Yards Per Game/Allowed	70.3 (6th)
3.41 (27th)	Rushing Yards Per Attempt/Allowed	4.69 (26th)
284.7 (8th)	Passing Yards Per Game/Allowed	331.7 (31st)
6 (T-11th)	Sacks Allowed/Sacks	4 (T-29th)
42.5 (T-11th)	Third Down Efficiency	40.0 (T-17th)
23.0 (16th)	Points Per Game/Allowed	23.0 (13th)

Sam Darnold will experience life without Christian McCaffrey for the first time since joining the Carolina Panthers. McCaffrey injured his hamstring in the 2nd quarter of last Thursday's win over Houston and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks. In his place, the Panthers have rookie Chuba Hubbard and veteran Royce Freeman. Hubbard will see the bulk of the workload in the backfield while Freeman will be mostly used for pass protection purposes.

"I told him I just need Chuba to be Chuba," offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. "Sometimes when there's injuries guys feel like the ordinary things, they have to be extraordinary at it. His good is good enough and I just need him to be Chuba Hubbard."

Not only will the Panthers be without McCaffrey but also tight end Dan Arnold. Earlier in the week, Carolina agreed to a trade that sent Arnold and a 3rd round pick to Jacksonville for CB CJ Henderson and a fifth-round selection. This opens the door for rookie Tommy Tremble to be a bigger factor in the Panthers' offense. Head coach Matt Rhule called Tremble the Jeremy Chinn of the 2021 draft class because of his versatility and all the things he is able to do. His first touch in the NFL went for a touchdown on a jet sweep against Houston, showing that he can run the football as well.

The Cowboys have one of the best young cornerbacks in the game in Trevon Diggs but aside from Diggs, the Dallas secondary is suspect. I would expect Joe Brady to challenge the back end of Dallas' defense early and often, especially with McCaffrey out of the lineup. Explosive plays have to come from somewhere and this seems like the week where Darnold and Robby Anderson get their connection going. Anderson has been quiet through the first three weeks but Matt Rhule wants that to change.

"We have to get Robby going on offense. Against the Saints, we had a couple of deep shots to him that we didn't quite connect on. If you watch the tape, he's open quite a bit and the ball is not getting to him and the ball is being spread out to a lot of different people. I think as a coaching staff we have to emphasize it. He's too good of a player to not be affecting the game. It's not like he's not open. So whether that's us designing a couple of things. Whether that's him just working on where Sam is, knowing where he is going to be, I don't know those answers. I'm going in every week saying let's make sure we get Robby really involved. I want us to be this five-headed monster that people can't take away because this guy is there and this guy is here. It hasn't quite clicked yet but I do believe it will come."

When the Cowboys have the ball

Cowboys Offense	Stats	Panthers Defense
416.7 (5th)	Yards Per Game/Allowed	191.0 (1st)
139.3 (4th)	Rushing Yards Per Game/Allowed	45.0 (1st)
4.64 (7th)	Rushing Yards Per Attempt/Allowed	2.65 (1st)
277.3 (10th)	Passing Yards Per Game/Allowed	146.0 (1st)
7 (T-17th)	Sacks Allowed/Sacks	14 (1st)
53.8 (4th)	Third Down Efficiency	21.2 (1st)
30.0 (T-6th)	Points Per Game/Allowed	10.0 (2nd)

What really makes this week four matchup so intriguing is seeing the Panthers' defense going up against the Cowboys' offense. Statistically, Carolina has the best defense in the National Football League while Dallas sits in the top five of most offensive statistical categories.

The Panthers have made life a living hell for opposing quarterbacks through the first three games of the season but they haven't faced an offense this explosive. Carolina defensive coordinator Phil Snow said that Dak Prescott is one of the fastest guys in the league in terms of getting the ball out of his hand. He said his snap-to-throw time is an average of 2.4 seconds. That doesn't bode well for a defense that thrives off of generating pressure and effecting throws.

Fortunately for Carolina, they have a stingy secondary that can eliminate big plays from happening in the passing game. Rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn broke multiple bones in his foot and will be sidelined for 2-3 months. The injury to Horn may have got the ball moving on the trade for Henderson but the Panthers may not use him much on Sunday, if at all.

"Jaycee is really a good player, so anytime you lose a good player that's always tough," Phil Snow said. "But CJ [Henderson] is coming along fine. How much he plays, I'm not sure yet. We'll play that by ear over the next three to four days. Eventually, CJ will be in there and playing quite a bit so we're looking forward to that. The smartest thing to do would be to use him maybe anytime we're playing man but I just don't know how much yet we'll use him. It'll depend on what we do over the next couple of days with him."

Carolina will also see the return of veteran cornerback A.J. Bouye who was suspended for the first two games of the season. He was ruled inactive last week as the team felt like he needed another week to get back up to speed with his conditioning. Phil Snow talked about this on Thursday afternoon.

"Yesterday he looked a lot more comfortable. He's played a lot of football in this league. It's taken him two or three days to get back into it but yesterday he looked pretty comfortable out there so I think he's fine. His biggest thing is how good of playing shape he's in because he's been down so long so we've got to be smart with him."

With three starters out in the secondary, you can bet your bottom dollar that Dak Prescott will go right at some of these newcomers/new faces. The Cowboys have a really solid trio of receivers in Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and tight end Dalton Schultz. All three have the ability to hurt you in space, deep down the field, and over the middle of the field. It's nearly impossible to take all three of these guys out of their rhythm. The Panthers are, however, catching a small break with WR Michael Gallup being on injured reserve.

As good as the passing game is, when the Cowboys are running the football with success, they're a very tough team to beat. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard form one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. For Carolina to have success defensively on Sunday, their focus must be taking away the running game. If they can make the Cowboys' offense one-dimensional, they will be in a good position to win the game.

I'll release my score prediction for this matchup on Saturday along with the rest of our staff here at All Panthers on Sports Illustrated.

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