The Carolina Panthers found lightning in a bottle this past weekend against the Miami Dolphins. With Chuba Hubbard out, they had to lean on Rico Dowdle on the ground, and he delivered. He ran for over 200 yards and a touchdown, good enough to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Hubbard didn’t practice on Wednesday, so his status for Sunday is very much up in the air. That means Dowdle could be in line for a revenge game against his old team, and it’s a matchup that should favor him. The Cowboys have given up more total yards than every other team in the NFL.
Jerry Jones made the questionable and egotistical decision to trade away All World edge rusher Micah Parsons because of a contract dispute. He claimed that the defense would be fine without its best player, and to the surprise of no one else on the planet, that hasn’t held up. The Cowboys defense has been the worst in the NFL in terms of yards per game and hasn’t been good in any statistical area. They’ve been an anchor that’s holding back what’s been one of the best offenses in the NFL.
The Panthers get another game against a beatable opponent at home, and they’re 2-0 in those situations. This is probably the toughest test so far, so there are a few things they need to do to retain their perfect record at home.