Dallas Cowboys at Panthers: 'Handling Prosperity' Predictions for NFL Week 11: FISH PODCAST
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys' theme from here inside The Star this week is in part about "handling prosperity.'' ... in other words, a look-in-the-mirror understanding of what got the team to 6-3 ... and what can keep the team riding high this Sunday at lowly Carolina.
But the truth is - even with the Cowboys insisting they learned a lesson by being distracted and then upset in Week 3 debacle at Arizona - the 1-8 Panthers don't offer up many numbers, trends or even chances to overcome the predicted 11-point deficit in Week 11. Some of the trends and numbers that do exist? We discuss them below and by clicking here, in the FISH PODCAST …
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1 - The Cowboys, winners of three of their last four and having outscored their opponents by 20 points in five of their last nine games, have the third-best point differential in the NFL.
“I really think it’s just all coming together, honestly,'' said QB Dak Prescott.
2 - Dak and CeeDee Lamb are in a remarkable dual groove.
Dak in the last four games is 101-of-140 passing (72 percent) for 1,354 yards (9.7 YPA) and a 12:2 TD-to-INT ratio, and he's also got 19 carries for 90 yards and two rushing TDs.
Meanwhile, Lamb has an NFL-record four straight games with 115-plus receiving yards. For the year, Lamb ranks No. 5 among NFL wide receivers in catches (68) and No. 3 in yards (975).
"We've been together for four years now and we've always got spurts of each other," Lamb said of the pairing. "But now, we're kind of putting a season together and we're starting to get hot at the same time, both of us. It's amazing for the offense and amazing for us.''
We can argue "the best'' vs. "one of the best.'' But Lamb is in the conversation ... just as Dak is suddenly in the MVP conversation.
3 - Amid speculation that Dallas might go to the "running back by committee'' concept, inside The Star, this is still Tony Pollard's room.
But what about Rico Dowdle and his "violent'' and "angry'' contributions? The Cowboys know there is a place for that. But consider: On the surface, it looked last week in the blowout of the Giants that Rico was "catching up'' to Pollard. The reality? Six of Dowdle’s 12 carries against the Giants occurred after Cooper Rush had entered the game.
Rico has a role; maybe he can be a red-zone solution. But against the Panthers - by some measure the second-poorest run-stop defense in the NFL? A Pollard breakout game makes sense.
4 - Does Bryce Young have an NFL future? Sure. But for now? The Cowboys have joined the chorus of those who compare the No. 1 overall pick to the NBA's Stephen Curry, and it's apt, especially in one sense: Go look up how long it took Curry to become a star.
So yes, it could be a long wait ... especially as shy as the Panthers are in talent. They paid for Miles Sanders but they play Chuba Hubbard. They tried to trade for Davante Adams (I'm sure he would've loved leaving a weird Raiders team to join a 1-8 Panthers team!) but are stuck with the ancient Adam Thielen, who has 72 targets, twice as many as any of the other no-names on the roster.
Said Dak: "In this league, every team is full of professional athletes who get paid and who are gonna prepare each and every week.''
Sure. But ... They just don't have the weapons to threaten a Cowboys defense that is doing some "Dallas Doomsday'' stuff ... and, I bet, wishes to feed success to Micah Parsons on Sunday after his stat shutout from a week ago.
5 - The Panthers are changing play-callers (first-year head coach Frank Reich is now captaining his own sinking ship) and the fans are trying to stage protest marches and the stadium will be filled with Dallas fans. All in all, it's an easy call If "America's Team'' "handles prosperity'' here, it'll experience more prosperity to the tune of Cowboys 30, Panthers 6.
