The Cowboys are back at home at AT&T Stadium after Monday night's home opener – a huge win over the Eagles to get to 2-1.
The Cowboys are in the middle of three straight home games as the Panthers come to town Sunday with a surprising 3-0 record.
The DallasCowboys.com staff gives their 'gut feeling' for this Week 4 matchup between the Panthers and Cowboys.
Rob Phillips: Carolina's defense is currently No. 1 for a reason, regardless of what you think about their schedule to this point. They're extremely quick to the ball, the DBs are tough and tackle well, and they give you some funky looks at the line of scrimmage with talented pass rushers. For the Cowboys' offense, this is a test on par with Tampa Bay in Week 1. But in three games the offense has shown they can move the ball and score points in different ways. They're patient, they're balanced and they don't seem to care who gets the credit. Carolina's offense is still a challenge even with Christian McCaffrey out, but the Dallas defense has been much more connected than last season. Cowboys win, something like 27-21.
David Helman: This game could be a beautiful test of just how much Dak Prescott has mastered this offense and his position. To this point in the season, Carolina is blitzing at the third-highest rate in the NFL. Prescott didn't face a ton of blitzes these last two weeks, but he was incredible at getting the ball out against heavy pressure in Tampa Bay. Between Haason Reddick, Brian Burns and Derrick Brown, this Panthers' front is no joke. I think they could make life difficult on the ground game, and I'm guessing Prescott is going to have some guys in his face. The difference is that Dak Prescott ain't Zach Wilson or Davis Mills, and I think he's going to hang in there and find some explosive plays against this secondary. It's not going to look as good as it did last week, but the Cowboys have the firepower to score more than 20 points in this game. If they can do that, I trust the Dallas defense to force enough stops to get out of this thing with a win. I've got the Cowboys winning by a weird score of 25-20 – maybe we see a safety or a two-point conversion to get that final number.
Nick Eatman: This is why I love football – we're into the season but not all the way. Are the Cowboys for real at 2-1? What about the Panthers at 3-0? Ok, so Carolina hasn't really played a lot of great teams just yet, but that's not their fault. I know this, they will face the best quarterback this defense has seen this year so far. Dak Prescott is playing at the highest of levels and he's the reason I think the Cowboys will have too much offensive firepower for Carolina in this game. Sure they are fast and quick to the ball, but the Cowboys are proving they can win in a variety of ways. I'm betting on Kellen Moore to figure it out again and this defense will get a few more turnovers in what will be a game that proves to be more one-sided than the final score. Late points by the Panthers but give me Cowboys to win it, 24-19.
Kyle Youmans: This matchup has so much potential. Something will have to give from the small sample size of games we've been given so far. Will the Carolina defense continue their dominance against far-and-above their greatest test? Can the Cowboys offense continue their fluidity and balance? Will takeaways continue to be the calling card for the Cowboys defense? Something has to give. And if I'm being honest, this Carolina defense doesn't scare me as much as it probably should. Cowboys win it big this week, 34-13.
