Panthers vs Cowboys Week 4: History, player to watch, gut prediction

The Dallas Cowboys come into Week 4 with a 2-1 record and a grip on first place in the NFC East. A big road win against the Los Angeles Chargers and a dominant performance against the Philadelphia Eagles has this team playing with some confidence as they enter their next matchup. This afternoon game is one that could really propel the Cowboys into a serious run this season.

The Cowboys are welcoming the Carolina Panthers into town in a matchup of two teams that have turned some heads around the NFL. The Panthers come to town with a surprising 3-0 record that few saw coming. That said, I think there are some areas the Cowboys can attack.

Like last week, let’s take a look at a few things in this matchup. We will look into the history of this matchup, a potential key player, and my gut prediction.  Let’s get into it!

Carolina Panthers vs Dallas Cowboys History

All-Time Records: 9-5 in favor of the Cowboys (2-0 postseason record in favor of the Panthers)

Most Recent Result: Carolina 16, Dallas 8 on September 9, 2018

The Cowboys come into this matchup nearly doubling up the Panthers in the all-time record between the teams. In a bit of an odd trend, this series is very streaky. These teams haven’t alternated wins and losses more than once with each team having multiple streaks of two or more consecutive wins.

This series doesn’t have the depth of history as others due to Carolina playing their first game in 1995 as an expansion team. Surprisingly, Carolina was the most successful expansion team the NFL has ever seen in their first two seasons going 7-9 and 12-4. Following that, the franchise seemed to regress and struggled to post a winning record until a revamped offense led them to the 2003 Super Bowl where they fell to the New England Patriots on a late field goal.

As of lately, Carolina has been sputtering a bit even though they have won the last two matchups against the Cowboys. Unfortunately, this matchup on Thanksgiving in 2015 is one many Cowboys fans would like to forget. In a 33-14 rout by the Panthers, Cowboys fans saw Tony Romo leave the game with a broken collarbone and thrust Matt Cassel into action.

The Cowboys finished 2015 with a 4-12 record and the fourth draft pick in the upcoming draft. Luckily, the silver lining here allowed the Cowboys to draft Ezekiel Elliott who has proven himself a top running back in the NFL. Maybe we have the Panthers to thank for starting us on the path towards Zeke!

Since their Super Bowl trip, the Panthers have only five winning seasons in the last 17 seasons. That said, three of those winning seasons were led by former league MVP, quarterback Cam Newton, who is no longer on the roster. The Panthers are now led by former third overall pick, Sam Darnold who has them atop the NFC South in an early-season surprise.