Cowboys defense dominates in 30-14 win over Panthers – Shane Taylor, Inside The Star

Dallas is back in the win column.

This football game took place just as I thought it would, a gross low scoring sloppy game. Although the Panthers have been playing better, they still have plenty of flaws, and the Cowboys are playing with nothing but backups.

It was scoreless after the first quarter of play, and stayed that way until Cooper Rush found CeeDee Lamb for a 14 yard touchdown on a back shoulder.

The drive was filled with Lamb who had over 60 yards on the scoring drive alone.

CeeDee makin' it look easy 👀#ProBowlVote | @_CeeDeeThree

📺: #DALvsCAR on FOX
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LvklCbYJ1e pic.twitter.com/QPef8ny03a

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 15, 2024

The Cowboys defense with the lead is just different, even with injuries, after the touchdown, the defense was able to force another turnover on a Bryce Young inspection.

Dallas settled for three by Brandon Aubrey when a false start killed the drive, they are still finding a way to hurt themselves, and it is so annoying.

Right when everything was setting up for Dallas to go up 17-0, Cooper Rush fumbled the football on 3rd and goal, and then the next play the Panthers scored on an 80 yard pass on a blown coverage.

Typical Cowboys game for ya right here, you can’t continue to make this type of stuff up.

Game Recap: Cowboys take away win, 30-14 – Kurt Daniels, DallasCowboys.com

A brief summary of how Sunday’s action went down.

The second frame, though, got off to a different start for the Cowboys offense, thanks in large part to Lamb, who caught three passes for 62 yards in a 10-play, 77-yard drive. All three receptions came on third down, the last being a 14-yard catch corralled in the end zone to give the visitors a 7-0 lead. With that, Lamb also surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight season.

Linebacker Eric Kendricks then reached a milestone of sorts himself. When cornerback Jourdan Lewis broke up a pass on Carolina’s ensuing position, the ball deflected right into the waiting hands of Kendricks. That marked his third takeaway of the season (two interceptions, one fumble recovery), equaling his career high.

Starting at the Panthers’ 48-yard line after the gift, Dallas managed to reach the 39, but there the drive stalled. Out came Brandon Aubrey, who continued his stellar 2024 campaign with a 52-yard field goal right down the middle for another three points.

And then within just back-to-back plays, a pair of self-inflicted mistakes by the Cowboys gave the Panthers all the momentum going into the half. Dallas was on the doorstep of adding points when they reached the Carolina 14-yard line with 45 seconds left. But that’s when Rush fumbled trying to pull the ball away from Rico Dowdle on an RPO play, which was recovered by the Panthers.

Even worse, on Carolina’s first snap, a breakdown in coverage left receiver Jalen Coker streaking down the right sideline all alone. The result was an 83-yard touchdown and the Cowboys’ advantage narrowed to 10-7 at the break.

5 winners & 2 losers from Cowboys Week 15 win over Panthers – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated

It is a good week when there are more of the former.

Winner: Osa Odighizuwa, DT

Dallas was up by just three points in the first half, thanks in large part to a fumble from Cooper Rush. Needing a spark to get the momentum back, Osa Odighizuwa delivered.

The underrated pass rusher broke past his blocker to record a strip sack on the first drive of the third quarter. The fumble by Bryce Young was recovered by Chauncey Golston, leading to a Dallas touchdown and 17-7 lead.

Odighizuwa wasn’t done there either as he continued to generate pressure on Young, finishing with one sack and four QB hits.

Team discipline and value of star power among Cowboys Week 15 takeaways – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire

What did you take away from Dallas’ win?

Value of star power

CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons and Rico Dowdle ruled the day. In case anyone has been wondering if superstars are worth it, Week 15 served as Exhibit A in the affirmative.

On a day where virtually every ball Cooper Rush threw was late and behind, Lamb managed to pull in nine receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. He put on a clinic by catching everything in sight.

Parsons made his case as one of the NFL’s biggest superstars. He logged four tackles, two sacks and two hits. Official pressures haven’t been tallied but he was a menace rushing from all over the field.

Dowdle may not be at superstar status yet, but he sure played like it. He rushed for 149 yards on 25 carries for a 6.0 yards/carry average. Some of that is a product of Carolina’s soft defensive line but most of it was Dowdle’s ability to win at the second level.

CeeDee Lamb made all sorts of history in Cowboys win over Panthers – Luke Norris, The Landry Hat

CeeDee continues to fight.

Entering Sunday’s game with 973 receiving yards for the season, Lamb needed just 27 to reach the 1,000-yard mark. It looked as if it was going to happen early as he caught a 25-yard pass from Cooper Rush on the Cowboys’ opening drive, only to see it negated by a penalty. He caught an eight-yard pass on the following play, but the drive quickly came to an end.

It was the second quarter in which Lamb did much of his damage for the day. After the Dallas defense forced a three-and-out, the offense embarked on a 10-play, 77-yard drive, during which Lamb caught three passes for 62 yards.

The first went for 20 yards, putting him over the 1,000-yard mark, the second went for 28, and the third went for a 14-yard touchdown. Rush spread the ball around a bit more as the day progressed, but Lamb, as mentioned, still had a big day with nine catches for 116 yards.

In reaching 1,000 yards, Lamb is now the first player in Cowboys history to reach the number in four of his first five seasons, which is quite remarkable given the number of great pass-catchers who’ve called Dallas home over the years.

In addition, he’s also just the second player in franchise history to notch 1,000 receiving yards in four consecutive seasons. The first to do so was another famous No. 88, Michael Irvin, who achieved the feat in five straight campaigns from 1991 to 1995.