Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers
Final Score: DAL 30 – CAR 14
Writer: Cesar Escajeda (@cescajeda13 on Twitter)
This early window “Tank Bowl” may not have meant as much for the standings, but it sure was an entertaining one to start the day off. Dallas hit the road in Charlotte undermanned but undeterred, registering four total turnovers and six sacks to bring the recently scrappy Panthers squad back to Earth in blowout fashion.
Two Up
- CeeDee Lamb, WR (DAL) – Lamb has been quietly productive through a down year for the Cowboys, but in the opening round of fantasy playoffs, he delivered a solid 9-116-1 stat line to the delight of fantasy owners who started him with confidence. The undisputed WR1 for Dallas did most of his damage in the first half of the game, which was a continuation of a somewhat troubling trend for Lamb and Cooper Rush – but still, it was a great outing overall and one that helped quite a few lineups on Sunday.
- Rico Dowdle, RB (DAL) – The first undrafted running back since Arian Foster in 2014 to have three straight 100-yard games through the ground, Dowdle has been a revelation of late for the much-maligned Cowboys rushing attack. With 149 yards on 25 carries in the early window, he continues that stretch of dominance – this time on the road against the league’s 32nd-ranked run defense. The 26-year-old RB has made the most of his lion’s share of opportunities out of the backfield in Big D, and he’s elevated the entirety of Dallas’ offense as a result.
Two Down
- Bryce Young, QB (CAR) – Much has been made of the progress Young has shown since returning from his early season benching. The 2023 No.1 overall pick looked much more confident in the pocket of late, had been making better decisions on his throws, and utilized his athleticism to take opposing teams to task over the last few weeks. With Dallas in town, however, the positives quickly dried up on Sunday afternoon. All four Panther turnovers were the result of bad ball protection on the part of the young signal caller – and while it was close early on with a few positive flashes, the game quickly got ugly in the second half, and Young just couldn’t do anything to remedy it.
- Jalen (Insert last name of your choice) – This game featured not one, not two, but three TDs by players named Jalen. Jalen Coker (CAR), Jalen Tolbert (DAL), and Jalen Brooks (DAL) all registered scores for their teams in this Week 15 outing – and while it’s highly doubtful any of them cracked your fantasy lineups for the start of playoffs, it’s still plenty entertaining and a neat little coincidence to see.
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Cooper Rush: 18/29, 214 Yards, 3 TDs, 2 FUM (1 Lost) | 4 Carries, 5 Yards
With the first three-touchdown game of Rush’s career, the longtime Cowboys’ backup had himself a day.
Fresh off of what was undeniably a devastating loss at home on Monday Night Football, Rush and the offense looked dominant on the road. It took a quarter to finally get going at the start, but the veteran opened up the scoring with a beauty of a throw to Lamb in the endzone for six. The second half was where the Cowboys truly hit their stride, with Rush orchestrating scoring throws to Dallas’ Jalen duo to put this game out of reach for the struggling home squad.
It wasn’t all exactly perfect – Rush missed several easy throws across the board and seemingly made the ridiculous decision to avoid Lamb like the plague for most of the second half. Add that to his bone-headed fumble in the red zone the makings of a loss were readily available for Carolina – they just never pounced on it. There’s room for improvement, but all things aside, it was a solid performance from Rush to come out with a road win.
Running Back
Rico Dowdle: 25 Carries, 149 Yards
A plentiful amount of yards on the ground for Dowdle once again.
Undisputed as the RB1 in Dallas at this point in the season, the young 5th-year RB continued his solid streak of rushing performances without much in the way of resistance from Carolina (or the Cowboys’ playcalling) in this one. He dominated carries and racked up a healthy 6.0 YPC average while looking quick and physical on every touch.
The only knock on Dowdle is that he didn’t have a score in what ended up being a high-scoring team effort – nor did he see any targets through the air, capping his performance on the fantasy side of things. It’s not Dallas if there isn’t some downside attached to the good, unfortunately.
Ezekiel Elliott: 9 Carries, 30 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
CeeDee Lamb: 13 Targets, 9 Receptions, 116 Yards, 1 TD
Another vintage Lamb performance, in half of the time.
It’s evident that Lamb is the best player on the offensive side of the ball in Big D – so it’s absolutely baffling that the former Oklahoma Sooners’ star wideout only draws three targets in the second half after absolutely mopping Carolina’s pass-defenders in the first.
Lamb did the vast majority of his damage early on, logging 8 receptions for 101 yards and his only score to lead the Panthers early. It was clear the home team did not have the personnel to take him out of the equation, and for the game’s first 30 minutes, the playcalling was eager to send the ball his way. Call it gamescript, call it load management, call it whatever you want – but Lamb getting the ball once the rest of the way is an absolute travesty and a rough continuation for the Cowboys of late.
Imagine the damage CeeDee could do without the randomness holding him back?
Brandin Cooks: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 34 Yards
Jake Ferguson: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 23Yards
Jalen Brooks: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 17 Yards, 1 TD
Jalen Tolbert: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards, 1 TD
Brevyn Spann-Ford: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards
Kavontae Turpin: 1 Target | 2 Carries, 27 Yards
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
Bryce Young: 19/28, 219 Yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 2 FUM (2 Lost) | 3 Carries, 12 Yards, 1 TD
A week removed from taking the Philadelphia Eagles down to the wire, Young regressed mightily against Dallas and their pass rush.
The young signal-caller started the game off well enough, moving the ball with relative ease and putting the ball in the correct spaces for his receivers to make plays. His 83-yard TD strike to Jalen Coker was phenomenal, lighting the Cowboy’s secondary up on a flash play to put the Panthers behind by just three points heading into the half.
It was all downhill from there.
Young was harassed on virtually every dropback coming out of the half, with Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa absolutely dominating the Panthers’ o-line on their way to six team sacks. It certainly contributed to Young’s four turnovers (the fumbles especially), with the first interception thrown being the result of a bad read when a wide-open option was a mere handful of yards away. Young has indeed come a long way as the season has progressed, but it’s far from a finished product just yet in Charlotte.
Running Back
Chuba Hubbard: 10 Carries, 32 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 17 Yards
Early through the game, it looked like Hubbard was about to hit his stride, and the Cowboys defense isn’t exactly imposing against the run of late with so many missing pieces. Once the front seven was able to clamp down and the Panthers began to fall behind the sticks, however, Dave Canales decided to lean away from the run, much to Hubbard’s detriment.
Mike Boone: 2 Carries, 14 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jalen Coker: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 110 Yards, 1 TD
Have a day there, rook.
Coker, the first of the THREE total Jalen(s) to score on the day in this one, arguably had the most impressive TD of the three – an 83-yard catch & run that absolutely burned the Cowboys’ coverage for a lightning-quick strike right before halftime. True, his lone score and the majority of his yards came on that one play, but it was more than enough to lead the Panthers’ pass-catchers on the afternoon. For a rebuilding squad, they may just have something special for the future in this promising young undrafted rookie.
Adam Thielen: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 51 Yards
The veteran led the way for Carolina’s WR corps with seven targets, and while it wasn’t flashy, it was certainly reliable work for the longtime star wideout.
David Moore: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards
Tommy Tremble: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
Xavier Legette: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 7 Yards | 1 Carry, 2 Yards
Ja’Tavion Sanders: 1 Target