Panthers Get Huge News on Injured Starter Ahead of Week 15
By Jovan Alford
The Carolina Panthers are coming off another close loss, falling by six points to the Philadelphia Eagles last week on the road. Carolina battled for all four quarters despite missing veteran pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney.
The veteran defender was ruled out with a knee injury after not being listed as DNP last week. Even though the Panthers’ defense racked up four sacks against Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts, they still want Clowney on the field.
Carolina will hope to have a healthy Clowney for this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, where the Panthers are surprisingly home favorites.
On Thursday, Joe Person of The Athletic reported the veteran pass rusher was a full participant for the first time since the Friday practice before Carolina’s Week 13 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Coincidentally, the last time Clowney was on the field was against Tampa Bay. The 31-year-old defender posted three combined tackles, two quarterback hits, a tackle for loss, and a sack. He also had three quarterback pressures and brought on a blitz six times.
This season, the former South Carolina Gamecock standout has played well in his first year with the Panthers. Clowney has 33 combined tackles, seven quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
Carolina will hope Clowney can be a full participant in Friday’s practice as they’ll need him to help slow down the Cowboys’ passing game.
The Cowboys are averaging 200.7 passing yards per game over their last three games and 225.4 yards at home this season. Since Cooper Rush took over as Dallas' starting QB, he's been sacked 10 times, including three times in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
With that being said, there should not be any excuse for Clowney or the rest of the Panthers' defensive line to not get after Rush on Sunday.
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