Cowboys look to declaw Panthers in Week 15

When the Carolina Panthers entered the league in 1995 nobody expected them to succeed early. The Dallas Cowboys certainly would have preferred not to have seen them the first three seasons the Panthers played in the NFL.

The first two times the teams met the Panthers walked off the field winners – including a stunning 26-17 win the 1996 NFC Divisional playoffs at Carolina.

Less than a year later – at Texas Stadium – Kerry Collins threw two touchdown passes to upend Dallas 23-13. The Cowboys finally beat Carolina 23-20 at home the following season.

Against The Panthers

Dallas has won 11 of the 14 meetings since those two early shocking losses.

But one of those losses came in the 2003 Wild Card playoff round. The Panthers dominated the contest in Carolina and won 29-10.

While the Cowboys are 0-2 against the Panthers in postseason play, they are 11-3 in regular season matchups.

The Cowboys have won the last two meetings and are 5-2 at home against the Panthers, and 6-3 at Carolina.

The Panthers hold a pair of two-game winning streaks against Dallas – winning back-to-back in 2015 and 2018.

Setting aside the 2003 playoff loss, the Cowboys won nine straight regular season games from 1998-2012. Dallas’ last two wins have come at home in 2021 and last year in Carolina.

The Panthers won their first game at Texas Stadium (1997) then lost their last three. Dallas beat the Panthers in the first year of AT&T Stadium’s existence.

Carolina’s 33-14 win in 2015 is its only win in Dallas’ new home.

Week 14 History

The Cowboys are 25-21 in Week 15. The NFL didn’t add a 15th and 16th week to the schedule until the 1978 season.

Over the first 14 years of the 16-game slate, the Cowboys fared well. Dallas was 9-5 in those games, going 5-3 at home and 4-2 on the road.

From 1992-2005 however, their fortunes took a nosedive.

The Cowboys would go 4-10 during that stretch – 1-3 at home and 3-7 away.

Since 2006 they have fared better with a 12-6 mark that includes winning five straight from 2008-2012. The bad news is Dallas has lost its last two Week 15 games.

Road losses to Jacksonville (2022) and Buffalo (2023) have soured the team on the week.

The loss to the Jaguars – 40-34 in overtime – saw the Cowboys up 17 points with 20 minutes to play.

Dak Prescott threw for three touchdowns and two interceptions. The second was a walk-off Pick Six returned 52 yards by Rayshawn Jenkins for the overtime win.

Last year’s loss to Buffalo was a 31-10 rout fueled by a Cowboys’ team that seemingly forgot to get on the plane from Dallas.

While they are 12-9 at home for Week 15, they are 13-12 on the road.

Dallas’ last Week 15 road win was against the Giants in 2021. The Cowboys last home Week 15 game was a win over the 49ers.

Dallas has won its last three home games in Week 15.

Unsurprisingly, Dallas most common Week 15 opponents are their NFC East rivals. The Cowboys are 3-2 against the Giants.

But they hold 4-4 records against both the Eagles and Washington.

The Cowboys won their last Week 15 meeting at Philadelphia in 2014. The last time Dallas met Washington they were still the Redskins.

Dallas won that game at home in 2010.

The Panthers played Dallas once before in a Week 15 game back in 1997 and left Texas Stadium with a 10-point win.

My Prediction

(based on rosters as of today)

The Panthers are rebuilding – again – and frankly, Bryce Young doesn’t scare me. Last year, Carolina kept it close before Dallas scored 16 unanswered in a 33-10 win.

It won’t be quite so easy this year.

But it’ll still be a win.

Predicted season record: 6-8