The Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers will duke it out in Raleigh, North Carolina, this Sunday. Both teams have struggled defensively, so we should be treated to a high-scoring affair this weekend.

The Cowboys are 2-2-1 and coming off a win over the New York Jets, which wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Panthers are also coming off their second win of the season after erasing a 17-point deficit to beat the Miami Dolphins.

This should be a pretty fun matchup between two teams looking to keep their playoff hopes alive. Let’s dive into some of the key storylines, players to watch, and bold predictions for Sunday’s game.

Will Dak Prescott keep his MVP campaign rolling?

Dak Prescott is playing as good as any quarterback in the NFL. He’s thrown for 1,356 yards and 10 touchdowns with just three interceptions, and the only reason he isn’t getting more MVP hype is because his team is 2-2-1. He has delivered for the Cowboys’ offense over and over again, but his defense has been letting him down all year.

Luckily, the Panthers don’t pose as big a threat as some of their other opponents, so as long as Dak plays well, the Cowboys should get a win and move to over .500 for the first time this season.

Can the Panthers get the run game going?

Last week, the Panthers ran for over 200 yards against the Miami Dolphins, which helped them mount a 17-point comeback to earn their second win of the year. Once the run game got going, Bryce Young looked much more comfortable in the pocket and looked like a franchise quarterback. The question is, can they do it again?

Dallas has one of the worst defenses in the league, so there should be opportunities for success. If the Panthers can establish the run early, it’ll open up their passing attack and give them a good chance to potentially upset the Cowboys.

Was Ryan Flournoy a one-hit wonder?

Last week, Ryan Flournoy had a massive game for the Cowboys, catching six passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. That was obviously aided by the fact that Dallas had multiple injuries at receiver, but with some question marks about their health heading into this week, can Flournoy do it again? Or was he just a one-hit wonder? I guess we’ll find out on Sunday if it was a fluke.

Can Carolina’s offense keep up?

This whole game is going to come down to one thing: can Carolina’s offense keep up with Dallas’?

We all know the Cowboys can score points in bunches. They’ve done it all year against defenses much better than the Panthers’. Carolina isn’t going to be able to win a low-scoring game, so they’re going to need to score on a large majority of their possessions, but I’m not sure they’re capable of doing that.

Bryce Young looks better than he has in the past, but he just doesn’t have weapons around him. Tet McMillan is the only receiver on the roster who can really go make a play for his quarterback, so as long as Dallas doubles him, it’s going to be hard to get the pass game going.

So, like we talked about earlier, I think it comes down to the ground game. Get Rico Dowdle going early like you did last week and let him chew some time off the clock. Not only do you make things easier for your quarterback, but you keep the ball out of Prescott’s hands by running time off the clock.

If Carolina wants to win, they’ll need to score 28+ points, which they’ve only done once this season.

Key Players

• Dak Prescott (QB, Dallas Cowboys)

It’s kind of boring to say one of the quarterbacks is a player to watch, but Dak truly is. He is the one who makes this offense go, and he’s playing as good as anybody right now. If he throws for 300+ yards and a couple of touchdowns, it’s hard to imagine the Cowboys losing this game.

The truth is, Dak is always going to be a player to watch. If Dallas is going to make the playoffs, it’s going to be because he had a tremendous season. Their defense is just flat out bad, so he’s going to have to do a lot of carrying to get this team to double-digit wins.

• Derrick Brown (DT, Carolina Panthers)

The Panthers really only have one star on the defensive side of the ball, and that’s Derrick Brown. The 2024 Pro Bowl defensive tackle has been great for them this season, logging nine run stops, nine pressures, and a sack in five games from the interior of the defensive line.

I know we talked about Dak and the Cowboys’ passing attack being their main weapon, but Javonte Williams has given their run game a big spark as well. If the Panthers want any chance of slowing down the Cowboys’ offense, they need Brown to swallow up holes in the run game and make sure they make the Cowboys one-dimensional.

• Trevon Diggs (CB, Dallas Cowboys)

Trevon Diggs is likely going to be the one tasked with guarding Tet McMillan more often than not, which makes him a player to watch on Sunday. McMillan is the only player on the Panthers’ team with over 110 receiving yards, and he’s all the way up at 351. He is the only one on this team that can get open consistently, so if Diggs can lock him down, that will ultimately halt the Panthers’ passing attack.

However, it’s not that simple. Diggs has not been playing his best ball this year, having already allowed 159 yards and three scores in five games. McMillan should be able to beat him pretty consistently, but if he can’t, Dallas might run away with this game.

Bold Predictions

Dak Prescott throws for 300+ yards and 4 TDs

Despite how well he’s been playing, Prescott has yet to throw for 300+ yards and 4 TDs in a single game this year, but that could change this weekend. The Panthers’ defense is arguably the worst defense they’ve faced all year (outside of the Jets), and I expect the Panthers to be able to keep this game semi-close.

As long as the Panthers don’t get blown out, Prescott is going to be slinging the rock all day long. Even with their injuries at the wide receiver position, I expect Dak to have a ton of success on Sunday, and it could result in his biggest game of the season.

Neither team rushes for 100+ yards

Despite both of these defenses giving up a lot of points per game, neither unit is that bad against the run. They both allow less than 125 yards per game on the ground, and with Chuba Hubbard potentially missing this game, I think there’s a good chance neither offense rushes for 100+ yards.

I know Javonte Williams has been good all year, and Rico Dowdle just had a massive game, but that’s why this is a bold prediction. I can see the Panthers falling behind early and playing catch-up all game, and if Dallas can’t establish the run, they’re content with throwing it all afternoon.

Cowboys win by 21+

I know I’ve talked about ways the Panthers can stay in this game throughout the article, but in the end, I think Dallas could end up winning by a lot. Their offense is just so good, and I don’t necessarily trust the Panthers to score consistently, even against one of the worst defenses in the league.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the final score of this game ended up being something along the lines of 42-20.