Cowboys will be a mettle detector for Panthers, who again have something to prove in Texas

Once upon a time, way back in 2015, an undefeated Carolina Panthers team strode into Dallas looking for a little respect.

The Panthers are doing that again, six years later, although this time they’re 3-0 instead of 10-0. A lot of the other details are similar. The Cowboys had a big-name quarterback — then it was Tony Romo and now it’s Dak Prescott. Carolina countered with its own hot quarterback and, more significantly, a defense coming into its own.

Panther fans can only hope Sunday works out anything like the way it did on Nov. 26, 2015, when Carolina blasted Dallas, 33-14.

I’ve never seen a Carolina team do worse damage to the opposing quarterback than it did on that day. Romo threw two pick-sixes, to Kurt Coleman and Luke Kuechly, and was eventually knocked out of the game and the rest of the season with a broken collarbone courtesy of Thomas Davis.

I’ve heard from many Panther fans over the years that the Dallas Thanksgiving game was their personal high point of the magical 2015 season, or at least in the top two along with the NFC Championship Game playoff win over Arizona in Charlotte.

There’s just something about beating the Cowboys, even when they aren’t very good, that is symbolic. And winning on Thanksgiving, a day normally reserved for much higher-profile teams, made it better for the Panthers.

Winning on this Sunday will be tougher.

This is a better Dallas team. That Cowboys team in 2015, most people forget, was only 3-7 going into that game. Prescott is at the height of his powers and, other than Tom Brady and perhaps Josh Allen, may be the best QB Carolina will face all year. The way Prescott can detect a defense at the line of scrimmage is Manning-esque.

So this game is a mettle detector.

Not metal as in silver or gold; mettle as in how well this Panther team can cope with the most difficult circumstances it will have faced so far in a young season in which Carolina never trailed in September.

Carolina won’t have its best player in tailback Christian McCaffrey due to another injury, but quarterback Sam Darnold has played well through three games, and the Cowboys’ defense is vulnerable. This one is going to be fun, and having former Panther Greg Olsen in the TV booth won’t hurt, either. And if you’re thinking positively and far down the road, this game could have playoff implications in terms of homefield advantage.

▪ Is it too early to look at the NFC South standings? Of course not.

The Panthers (3-0), at worst, will be tied for first place on Monday morning. Tampa Bay and New Orleans (both 2-1) each play teams with losing records on Sunday, though — New Orleans faces the N.Y. Giants (0-3) and Tampa Bay gets to let Brady go find some revenge at New England (1-2).

▪ There were several Panther-related moments at the Rolling Stones concert at Bank of America Stadium on Thursday night.

Mick Jagger briefly held a McCaffrey No. 22 jersey up on stage while pretending to put it on guitarist Ron Wood. The 78-year-old Jagger, who jumped around like he was 38 and made a number of Charlotte-centric references throughout the night, also urged the crowd at one point to “Keep Pounding!” He said the Stones were going to do the same.

▪ Prediction time. I moved to 2-1 picking Carolina’s result after tabbing the win over Houston. I don’t think the Panthers’ second trip to Texas in 10 days will work out quite as well. My prediction: Dallas 23, Carolina 20.

This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Cowboys will be a mettle detector for Panthers, who again have something to prove in Texas."

Scott Fowler

The Charlotte Observer

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Columnist Scott Fowler has written for The Charlotte Observer since 1994 and has earned 26 APSE awards for his sportswriting. He hosted The Observer’s podcast “Carruth,” which Sports Illustrated once named “Podcast of the Year.” Fowler also conceived and hosted the online series and podcast “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” which featured 1-on-1 interviews with NC and SC sports icons and was turned into a book. He occasionally writes about non-sports subjects, such as the 5-part series “9/11/74,” which chronicled the forgotten plane crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 in Charlotte on Sept. 11, 1974. Support my work with a digital subscription