Carolina Panthers: Playing on Thanksgiving Preview
The Carolina Panthers play the Dallas Cowboys today at 4:30 on CBS.
The Carolina Panthers are about to do something they have never done before, play on Thanksgiving Day. Yes the Panthers have been playing games for twenty years now, but they have never suited up on Turkey Day. They never were rewarded with a John Madden eight legged turkey after a game.
That changes today as the Carolina Panthers face the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas at 4:30 PM. The Panthers are undefeated on the season and riding a 10-0 record so far. They are two games up on the Arizona Cardinals in the home field race and own a tiebreaker over the Green Bay Packers.
They are facing a desperate team in Dallas. The Cowboys started 2-0 but then lost Tony Romo. They were 0-7 without Romo. The veteran quarterback returned last week and Dallas pulled out a win over Miami. So the Cowboys now are looking at the world they created in the era of Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel.
That world is not as dire as it would be if the Cowboys were in a different division. Dallas at 3-7 currently sits last in the NFC East, but only two games behind the unimpressive and beat up New York Giants. You only have to ask the Panthers whether a 3-7 team has the ability to turn things around and make the playoffs. Carolina went 3-8-1 last year and still managed to win a weakened NFC South.
So the Cowboys have a lot to play for. Like the Redskins last week, Dallas got to show its stuff against a weakened defense. That should give the Panthers a good idea what to scheme for. The first thing to shut down would be the Cowboys run game with Darren McFadden.
Stopping McFadden will force the game into the hands of the still recovering Romo. He threw two picks against the Dolphins, so you have to like the chances of Josh Norman in this game. The Panthers will also try to pressure Romo to make mistakes. They get Charles Johnson back this week, but do not expect the Panthers to throw him into too many plays with Kony Ealy playing well.
On offense the Panthers will continue to develop a more well rounded identity. Newton has been finding more receivers in the past couple games. Continuing to use those options will prevent the Cowboys from focusing on Jonathan Stewart or Greg Olsen. Look to Devin Funchess for a big play somewhere in the game.
The Panthers will be tested to get to 11-0, hopefully they can continue to ride the momentum that got them this far.