3 depressing predictions for Cowboys vs. Panthers

The 2024 NFL season has flown by and we have arrived at Week 15. Dallas travels to Carolina for a showdown between teams that will soon be venturing toward Cancun and other vacation destinations. On paper, the Cowboys should win this game going away, but as we know, the games play out on the field. With that said, the Cowboys will still likely find a way to bungle this game, and here are a few predictions that could help that come to fruition.

Cooper Rush will throw for under 200 yards for the third consecutive game

This could be for no other reason than the Panthers are the worst team in the league against the run giving up 170.1 yards per game on the ground. So, you would think the Cowboys would stick to the script and run it until the Panthers figure out how to stop them. Although this is Dallas and Mike McCarthy’s pass-happy offense. Yes, we’re in a passing era but sometimes it’s best to follow the script.

Carolina is abysmal against the run so Rico Dowdle should be popping up on your TV screen early and often. Dallas should be running the ball in some fashion at least 30 times in this game. Dowdle doesn’t need to have 30 carries all to himself but at least 20-22 sounds like a good day. Since the Cowboys still think they’re fighting for something (other than pride), the game plan should consist of a lot of Rush handing or pitching the ball to whoever lines up behind him.

Whether anyone outside the locker room (or inside for that matter) believes in Rush or not is irrelevant. As long as the man upstairs (team owner Jerry Jones) still believes in him that’s the opinion that holds the most weight.

"I still believe (Cooper Rush) gives us our best chance. Wins are important for us. This is a young team," Jones said.

Chuba Hubbard will have a career day against the Cowboys

Speaking of not being able to stop the run, Dallas isn’t much better at it than Carolina. While the Cowboys are giving almost 30 yards less on the ground per game than the Panthers, teams are still rushing for an average of 141.9 against Dallas. The Cowboys are third worst in the league at stopping the run behind the Panthers and Indianapolis Colts. This really is set up to be one hell of a messy game.

Hubbard rushed for 153 yards just over a month ago in an overtime win against the New York Giants. He hasn’t hit the century mark since that game so he could be overdue. Look for the Panthers to press the issue and get Hubbard rolling from the jump in this one. Bryce Young is showing some improvement lately but he’s still barely cracking 60 percent in completion percentage. Until he can consistently do better the Panthers should be leaning heavily on the ground game.

Mike McCarthy will wet the bed with his coaching decisions

It isn’t that farfetched to think that the Cowboys head coach, Mike McCarthy, could do something to disrupt the flow of this game for his team. Whether it’s bad clock management, uncreative play calling or a lack of discipline by this team overall, it all comes back to McCarthy. That’s why it’s hard to place the blame for such a disappointing season on player injuries. However, Jerry Jones might put a different spin on that.

"The positive of losing a player is that a young player, usually your depth, is going to get some reps, a player that can get better for the future," Jones explained.

This team has underperformed in big moments and games for years and everything finally came to a head this season. Winning 12 games in each of the previous three seasons feels like the peak of what this franchise can accomplish under the current coaching regime.

All those regular season wins are great but in Dallas, it’s about advancing further and eventually winning Super Bowls. Or at least get us to an NFC title game. The writing has been on the wall all season for McCarthy, now the only thing left is for his boss to open his eyes and read it.