Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is notorious for eating a lot of yards, however, tonight in Charlotte, in Fox’s Game of the Week, he and his Cowboys teammates are leaving the Queen City starving.
The 23-year-old rusher typically averages 100 yards per game. But in the 16-8 loss, Elliott only had 69 yards on 15 carries; Carolina has now held opponents without a 100-yard rusher for 21 straight games, a franchise record and the longest active streak in the NFL – all credit goes straight up front for not allowing him to excel on the field; things looked even bleaker to start the game, with Elliott only have 18 yards in the first half and 39 through three quarters – take away a 17-yard burst and Elliott was sitting at 22 yards on the ground and his team down 10-0 after three quarters.
“Just like everything, stop the run,” Shaq Thompson said after the victory against the Cowboys. “I mean, that’s what we are first: stop the run and make them one-dimensional.”
The Panthers defense did just that as they swarmed Dak Prescott and made him uncomfortable in the pocket the entire game; he finished the night completing 19 of his 29 passing attempts for 170 yards at times looked like a deer in headlights watching his offensive line crumble before his eyes and subsequently was sacked. Not once, twice, or even three times: the Panthers got to Prescott six times tonight, causing the Cowboys to lose 32 yards total.
“Yeah, y’all know we got dogs upfront,” Thompson said. “Those guys go hunt, especially at the end they made a lot of plays for us. A lot of sacks. They kept Dak in the pocket, forced some fumbles and made some sacks. They did a great job.”
Despite all of the great effort by the Panthers defense, Thompson said there is still room for improvement. He mentioned how in some points in the game, the Cowboys got their way. Most notably when Prescott drove his team to the red zone which allowed Elliott to walk in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter with the Panthers up 16-0; after a Prescott two-point conversion, the Panthers were in a one possession game that they had been dominating.
Kawann Short said as the Cowboys started to drive for a game-tying score with three minutes left, he and his teammates on the defensive line knew it was time to take matters into their own hands.
“We knew they were in a throwing position,” Short, who had two sacks on the day including on that possession, said. “We knew it was two minutes, and that’s what we strive for. You hate to be in it, but you love to be in it. So, it’s a love-hate thing. But at the end of the day we knew we can take care of business. We just communicate; be disciplined up front and rally to the ball. And that’s what we did, man. Mario [Addison] made a hell of a play and got us off the field.”
Luke Kuechly echoed praise to the Panthers defensive front line that took the Cowboys out of their game and helped limit the Cowboys to 2-of-11 (18%) on third down – the second straight season opener the team has limited an opponent to that exact percentage; he mentioned that the their game plan was to stop the run early and that they did a great job overall and it was the defensive line that set the tone and made their jobs as linebackers much easier.
“Yeah, the guys up front played well like they always do,” Kuechly said. “Our defense starts with them and they played great in the run game. They played great at the end of the game with the sacks – KK had a couple, Wes [Horton] had one more and the big one at the end. Pep had some good rushes. Those guys all played excellent. It’s fun to have a front like that.”
Kuechly, who led the team with 13 tackles, scared Panthers faithful as he went down late in the fourth quarter and appeared to be hurt, but he reentered the game soon after and said in the locker room that the injury wasn’t serious. He mentioned the medical staff took a look at him and there wasn’t anything wrong with him; the same cannot be said about his teammates Greg Olsen and Daryl Williams – bumps, bruises and sometimes major injuries are all a part of the game.
Kuechly trips up Zeke Elliott
It is worth noting this is the first time that the Carolina Panthers defeated the Dallas Cowboys at home during the regular season and as dominant as the Panthers defense was tonight, Shaq Thompson reiterated that this game is behind them and they are focusing on the Week 2 divisional game against the Falcons in Georgia next Sunday.
“The defense, we start out fast,” Thompson said. “It’s some plays that we let them have that we should have never let them have, but that’s what film is for and that’s what we’re going to come in tomorrow and get ready for Atlanta.”
David Tepper’s team won their first game of the regular season since he bought them in May for over $2 billion; he came into the locker room and was given the game ball and had a message for the guys.
“He said [it was a] great team win,” Thompson said, smiling. “We know he is more excited than that. But when you’re under pressure what else can you say? So, shout out to Mr. Tepper for coming in; we gave him the game ball for his first win.”
Hopefully, it’s not the last.
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