BATTLE LINE DRAWN WILL: THE Cowboys travel to play Carolina…?

The Dallas Cowboys head east to play the one-win Carolina Panthers in the early slate of games this Sunday. This should be another game where the Cowboys have a huge advantage which should bring us lots of things to cheer for. Here are five things to watch when the Cowboys play the Panthers on Sunday.

If you can envision this Panthers offense having success against the Cowboys’ defense, it will come from an undisciplined group of overaggressive defenders. This is something we’ve seen before as teams have found holes in the defense when one of the Cowboys’ defenders is caught with his hand in the cookie jar. If you look at the one real scoring drive the Giants had last week before the Cowboys starters came out, it was built off nice runs, including quarterback scrambles after the pocket collapsed. If the defense’s eyes get too big and start blitzing, the Panthers might be able to capitalize as Young has done a good job against extra rushers. It might seem like more fun to bring the house, but good discipline on defense will serve them well.

Panthers quarterbacks have been sacked 32 times, fifth-most in the NFL. The Cowboys’ defense pressures opposing quarterbacks at a higher rate than any team in the league and Young struggles immensely against pressure with a passer rating of just 43.9 when under duress.