Today’s game against the Carolina Panthers all but screams “Trap Game” for the Dallas Cowboys.
Especially now that the team is at 5-8 for the season and likely with no chance to make the playoffs. They have to win out and that just to finish above .500.
The loss of DeMarvion Overshown for the rest of this season and probably all of 2025, will take a toll on the team as well.
As for today’s game, there are two unlikely players who could be responsible for springing the trap.
A loss today would hammer in that final nail in the Cowboys’ 2024 season.
The first is running back Chuba Hubbard, who is having a solid season. The second is quarterback Bryce Young.
With Jonathan Brooks done again for the year with another ACL issue, Hubbard will be carrying the load for Carolina out of the backfield.
Young, meanwhile, is literally coming back from the dead, at least career wise. The first pick overall of the 2023 draft was benched after two games of this season.
Journeyman quarterback, and a former Cowboys signal-caller, Andy Dalton took over as Carolina’s starter.
The dreaded “Bust” label was brought out and being sewn over Young’s jersey.
But an injury suffered in an auto accident put Dalton on the shelf, restoring Young as the starter. The resurrected Young looks nothing like the player that got benched.
Young has seven touchdowns against four interceptions in the six games he has started since taking his job back. Carolina has won two of those six games after a 1-7 start.
They nearly upended the Eagles, on the road, last week. Young hit Xavier Legette with a perfect pass in the final minute, but Legette couldn’t keep control of the ball as he went to the ground.
Philadelphia escaped with a six-point win.
The Cowboys cannot take Young lightly. Plus, they’ll have to slow down Hubbard, and that’s no easy task.
Hubbard already has a career season-high 1,011 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in just 13 games.
He’s also added a touchdown on 35 receptions for 141 yards out of the backfield.
On offense, Dallas must feed Rico Dowdle. While the Panthers early on kept Saquon Barkley from running wild, they still allowed him to rush for 124 yards on 20 carries.
If Dowdle can match those numbers, that will open things up for Cooper Rush and the passing game.
Not So Fine In Carolina
While Dallas has a better record on the road this year, the Panthers have proven tough at home against the Cowboys.
Dallas is 11-5 overall against Carolina, and 6-3 when playing in Charlotte.
But, four of those wins were by a touchdown or less. The Cowboys did win the last game played at Carolina, a 33-10 rout last year, however.
Dallas will be looking for its third straight win overall in the series.
The Prediction
The Cowboys should win this game. That was my prediction back at the beginning of the season.
I’ll stand by it now.
Cowboys 19, Panthers 17.
For the record, I had Dallas losing to the Bengals last week in that post back in September and coming into this game at 5-8. They appear to be on track for that 8-9 record after all.
Those of you who jumped all into my chili about my season prediction back in September can form an apology line at your convenience.
Week 15 All-Time
Dallas is just 25-21 in games played in the 15th week. They are 13-12 when playing away from home.
The Cowboys didn’t play a 15th game in a regular season schedule until 1978, when the NFL expanded to 16 games.
But, they have lost their last two Week 15 contests, both on the road. They also lost their only Week 15 game against the Panthers, 23-13, at home on Dec. 8, 1997.
That was the second straight loss to Carolina, roughly 11 months after dropping the 1996 Wild Card game, 26-17, in Carolina.
The Panthers are the only NFC South team with a victory over the Cowboys in a Week 15 game. Dallas is a combined 6-0 against the other three teams in that division in Week 15.
WEEK 15 ALL-TIME VS. OPPONENTS
NFC EAST
- GIANTS (3-2)
- EAGLES (4-4)
- COMMANDERS (4-4)
NFC WEST
- CARDINALS (2-1)
- RAMS (2-1)
- 49ERS (1-0)
- SEAHAWKS (0-0)
NFC SOUTH
- FALCONS (1-0)
- PANTHERS (0-1)
- SAINTS (3-0)
- BUCCANEERS (2-0)
NFC NORTH
- BEARS (0-0)
- LIONS (0-0)
- PACKERS (0-1)
- VIKINGS (1-0)
AFC EAST
- BILLS (0-1)
- DOLPHINS (0-0)
- PATRIOTS (0-0)
- JETS (0-2)
AFC SOUTH
- TEXANS (0-0)
- COLTS (0-1)
- JAGUARS (0-1)
- TITANS (0-0)
AFC NORTH
- RAVENS (0-0)
- BENGALS (0-0)
- BROWNS (0-0)
- STEELERS (1-0)
AFC WEST
- BRONCOS (0-0)
- CHIEFS (0-1)
- RAIDERS (1-0)
- CHARGERS (0-0)