Cowboys vs Panthers Free Pick, NFL Free Picks, NFL Predictions 12/15/24
- J.A. Cavalier
- Dec 13, 2024
- 3 min read
Dallas vs Carolina (CAR -3, 43.5)
NFL ODDS, NFL PREDICTIONS, NFL PREVIEWS
Dallas Cowboys vs. Carolina Panthers | Sunday, December 15, 2024
The next phase of the Bryce Young resurgence tour brings the Dallas Cowboys to town, and after facing some of the league’s best offenses over recent weeks, this is a great opportunity for Bryce to unleash and show us what he can really do. The Cowboys just gave up 369 passing yards to Joe Burrow and the Bengals, and are conceding the second most points per game this year, at 28.2. Funnily enough, it is this Panthers team who offer up the only defense conceding more points than the Cowboys this year, at 29.8 points per game, which suggests it could be a good day for scoring.
Despite being written off as a bust last year, Bryce Young enters this game as by far the better quarterback, over Cooper Rush, and genuinely on an upswing that should fill Panthers fans with hope and promise that they probably didn’t believe was possible even just a couple of months ago. He has thrown for 878 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception over his last four games, which might not sound like much, but they came against tough opposition. He produced his career-high 92.9 passer rating against a talented Steve Spagnuolo run Chiefs’ defense, and delivered what should have been a game-winning drive against Vic Fangio’s Philly defense in week 14, if it wasn’t for a bad drop by Xavier Legette.
Things should be much easier for Bryce this week, going up against a Dallas D that ranks 22nd in passing yards conceded per game, with 223.4, whilst also giving up the third most yards on the ground, with 141.9 per game. It will be fascinating to see if Young can capitalize on his new-found form and deliver a season-defining performance to remove any concerns about his status as QB1 for next year. Of course, he is still lacking weapons, with a 34-year-old Adam Thielen leading the offense and Xavier Legette proving unreliable at the moment, but he has managed against much better defenses, and he should fancy his chances here.
Cooper Rush and his Cowboys should also fancy their chances. Despite missing Dak Prescott, they have scored at least 20 points in each of their last three games, and, with the Panthers conceding the most points in the NFL and the second-most yards, they should be able to hit that mark again. The Panthers D has played better in recent weeks, but it’s hard to see them being able to slow down CeeDee Lamb, and even Rico Dowdle, who has come along nicely this season.
Lamb remains one of the league’s very best wide receivers, even with a less reliable quarterback under center, and Dowdle has rushed for 329 yards and 1 touchdown over the last 3 games. He is offering some much-needed explosiveness in what has otherwise been a lackluster rushing attack, and he should have fun against this Panthers unit that is conceding 170.1 rushing yards per game, the most in the NFL.
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