The Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers met in Bank of America Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Both teams were coming off big wins in Week 5, and looking to get to or above .500 for the first time this season.

This game went back and forth from the opening kickoff. Neither team held a lead larger than seven points throughout this entire game, and after 60 minutes of hard-fought football, the Panthers came out on top, 30-27.

Here were my takeaways from Sunday afternoon’s game.

Dak Prescott should be a top-three MVP candidate despite the Cowboys’ record

Dak Prescott is playing like an MVP. He’s always been a great regular-season performer, but what he’s doing this year without CeeDee Lamb has been incredibly impressive.

Through five weeks, Prescott had thrown for 1,356 yards and 10 touchdowns, but after today, he’s up to 1,617 yards and 13 touchdowns. Outside of Matthew Stafford, who had a down week to his standards, the only other player I’d have over Prescott is Baker Mayfield, but we need to see what he does this afternoon before coming to any conclusions.

No matter how Mayfield plays, Dak should be a top-three, if not top two, MVP favorite after this week. Right now, it’s a three-horse race between Dak, Stafford, and Mayfield.

Maybe Rico Dowdle is legit

I’ll admit, I was not convinced that Rico Dowdle would be able to keep up his pace from last week. Obviously, nobody can average 200 yards per game, but today proved that he could be coming for the RB1 job in Carolina.

On Sunday, Dowdle faced his former team for the first time since leaving Dallas, and he had another massive performance with Chuba Hubbard out once again. Dowdle carried it 30 times for 183 yards (6.1 average) and a touchdown while catching four passes for 56 yards and a score.

It’s a great problem to have if you’re Carolina. They love Hubbard and what he brings to the table, but it’s going to be hard to keep the ball out of Dowdle’s hand moving forward. We could start to see a very split backfield once Hubbard is back.

Tet McMillan can be an elite red zone threat

NFL, American Football Herren, USA Carolina Panthers Training Camp Jul 24, 2025 Charlotte, NC, USA Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan 4 walks up for training camp. Charlotte Carolina Panthers Practice Facility NC USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xScottxKinserx 20250724_jla_im2_321A lot of receivers tend to have big games against the Cowboys’ defense, and Tet McMillan was no exception. The Panthers’ rookie receiver may not have had 100+ yards or a bunch of catches, but he made his presence felt in the red zone.

McMillan caught three passes for 29 yards but had two touchdowns, which were somehow his first two touchdowns of the season. Part of what made him such an attractive draft pick was his size, which the Panthers desperately needed in the red zone. If he can become that Dez Bryant-type of threat, the Panthers’ offense will benefit greatly.

Cowboys would be Super Bowl contenders with an average defense

The Cowboys should be Super Bowl contenders. But instead, they’re going to find themselves fighting for a playoff spot at the end of the year.

The Cowboys’ offense is very, very good. That’s been on full display all year. Dak Prescott is firing on all cylinders and should be in the MVP conversation (and that’s without CeeDee Lamb for a majority of the season), and while it wasn’t great today, their run game has been very good all season.

The defense, though…Not very good. They came into the week giving up an average of 30.8 points per game, and just allowed the Panthers, who average 20 points per game, to score 30. They have problems at every level of their defense, and if they were just average, they’d be serious contenders in the NFC.

Bryce Young continues to improve every week

Ever since a slow start to last week’s game, Bryce Young has been very sharp.

The Panthers fell behind the Dolphins 17-0 early, but Young helped them claw their way back into it, throwing for 198 yards and two touchdowns. This week, he followed that up with another very strong performance, completing 17 of his 25 passes for 199 yards and three scores.

I know the Dolphins and Cowboys defenses aren’t great, but if you’re a Panthers fan, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Young has a true WR1 in McMillan now, and he’s reaping the benefits. I hope he can keep this pace up, because I’ve always been a Bryce Young believer.