Carolina Panthers: Top takeaways from win over Dallas Cowboys

The Carolina Panthers won their season opener by a final score of 16-8 over the Dallas Cowboys. These are the top takeaways from the Panthers first game of the 2018 season.

It wasn’t always pretty but the Carolina Panthers were able to grind out a 16-8 win over the Dallas Cowboys. These are the type of games and wins that teams can point to at the end of the season for why they are in the playoffs.

The game didn’t start particularly well for this offense as the Panthers were driving on their opening drive and reached the red zone. However, a fumble by Christian McCaffrey inside the five ended the Panthers best chance at points in the first quarter.

It was in the second that the Panthers were able to get on the board, thanks to a Cam Newton rushing touchdown and a field goal by Graham Gano at the end of the half that gave the Panthers a 10-0 lead heading into halftime.

The third quarter was a defensive struggle as neither team could really gain any traction on the offensive side of the ball. The Panthers were forced to punt on their two drives in that quarter while the Cowboys punted once and missed a field goal.

It was the fourth quarter that things began to get interesting as the Panthers were able to build their lead to 16-0 thanks to a one-yard run by Alex Armah but a botched snap wasn’t able to extend it to 17.

The Cowboys made it a game though with an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown and had a chance at the end to tie the game up. However, the Panthers defense shut them down with a strip sack by Mario Addison and the fumble was recovered by Captain Munnerlyn.

These are the top takeaways from the Carolina Panthers’ first win of the 2018 season.