When quarterback Tony Romo drove Dallas to the Carolina 3-yard line late in the first quarter, he had taken the Cowboys where the Panthers’ past two opponents never went. Neither the Titans nor the Redskins cracked Carolina’s red zone.
It’d be the only time Romo went there.
In their next five drives – which spanned the second and third quarters – the Cowboys picked up just two first downs. They gained 21 total yards, with six of those coming on the ground. That came a week after the Redskins rushed for 14 yards, the fewest by an opponent in Panthers’ history. After allowing a combined 45 rushing yards the past two weeks, the Panthers are temporarily second in the league at 88.7 per game, behind only Atlanta.
The defense was especially dominant in the second quarter when Romo had more interceptions (2) than passing yards (1). The picks came on back-to-back plays by linebacker Luke Kuechly, who took the first into the end zone, a place he hadn’t been since his junior season at Boston College.
“Oh man. I haven’t done that in a while,” Kuechly said. “(Cornerback) Bené (Benwikere) laid a good block on someone, and I was able to scurry in there.”
Kuechly became the first player with picks on back-to-back plays from scrimmage since 1997 and upped his career total to 10, most among all linebackers since 2012.
Afterward, quarterback Cam Newton gave perhaps the most colorful description of Kuechly we’ve heard since he’s been in Carolina.
“Luke’s a little firecracker. He has a dark side. I don’t want to give away who he is but a person that plays like is not just a nice guy. He has the smile, the charisma, the lawyer look, but he has like a demolition mentality,” Newton said.
“He’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But in my eyes, he’ll always be Captain America because he makes every play, he shows up and he prepares extremely well.”
After returning from a seven-game absence to lead the Cowboys to a win in Miami last week, the dream in Dallas was Romo could save the season.
That hope took a big hit on the third offensive play of the game when safety Kurt Coleman snagged his single-season career best fifth interception and weaved his way 36 yards to start the scoring.
It didn’t get much better from there for Romo.
After Kuechly’s pair of picks in the second quarter, Romo was sacked on the final play of the third by linebacker Thomas Davis, who drove Romo’s left side into the ground. That’s where his previously broken collarbone is and the fear is it’s broken again.
Davis certainly didn’t intend to injure Romo, but he did take satisfaction in shutting him down.
“We stepped up to the challenge. All week long, we heard how good their offensive line was. And how much Tony was going to come in and carve us up. We heard all that stuff,” Davis said. “We felt disrespected and we went out there and played like we were capable of playing today. We set the tone early in this game.”
It’s always risky trying to compare a player to Steve Smith but hear me out for a second.
Cornerback Josh Norman:
–Took a non-traditional route from high school to the pros.
–Has an enormous chip on his shoulder.
–Is the most quotable Panther.
–Can take his fiery game to another level when someone starts yapping at him.
Saving a deeper Smith/Norman comparison for another day, what’s interesting about Thursday’s pregame trash talk is it was sort of like passing notes.
According to Norman, Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant said a few things to the Panthers’ younger cornerbacks when they were warming up and Norman was in the locker room getting stretched out. Those things were apparently about Norman, who didn’t need any extra motivation. But he got some.
“He shouldn’t have started with my DBs. He started pregame to come at them, and the stuff that he was talking was outrageous. They came back and told me. I put my thinking cap on and I went to work. I went to a dark place. I went to the bat cave. I went ‘Dark Knight’ on him,” Norman said, before tossing in another movie reference.
“He took me to a ‘300’ place. I ended up watching that. I was gonna save that until later in the season, but it had to come out today because of the magnitude of the disrespect. It was unbelievable.”
Bryant finished with two catches for 26 yards, with just one of those receptions coming against Norman for a gain of 6 yards. Bryant was also held out of the end zone, unlike what happened last week against the Dolphins.
“(Miami’s) Brent Grimes was obviously the best corner in the league. (Bryant) got his jersey. And he was four (catches) for 45 (yards) with a touchdown,” Norman said.
“So I don’t know if he’s going to want my jersey now. Maybe I’ll give it to him.”
When the Cowboys turned up on the schedule as a Week 12 game, most fans did the math. Greg Hardy would be off his suspension, so what would the volatile former Panthers’ defensive end do to Cam Newton?
Well, Hardy hit the Carolina quarterback once. Kind of. It was more of a whiff in the backfield that Newton turned into a short gain.
Hardy didn’t compile a defensive stat, the first time he’s gone without making even a tackle since Week 3 of 2012. While the Cowboys moved Hardy around the line, Panthers tackles Michael Oher and Mike Remmers took turns neutralizing him. But not surprisingly, no one was in a hurry to gloat afterward.
“I really think our guys played well across the board,” coach Ron Rivera said. “It wasn’t just trying to stop one individual.”
The silly controversy that surrounded Newton after the Titans game was inspired by an Atlanta-based dance. His scoring celebration Thursday was a nod to grandma.
After his diving, 4-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, Newton jumped up and started his dance with the twist. Then, he tossed in the swim, followed by “hittin’ dem folk” and his Superman pose. The dab was a no-show.
Yes, this is where we’re at now. A play-by-play of Newton’s dances.
“I’ve got diverse dancing ability. I’ve got to switch it up sometimes,” he said. “Back in the day, they used to do the twist. Every now and then when I get my grandma up to dance, she likes to twist. Her name’s Hattie, by the way.”
“Hey, Hattie.”
Panthers fans often look at teams like Dallas with envy, at least when it comes to free agent additions. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t afraid to make a splash. Really, that’s the motivation behind many of his moves.
So you could have a general manager like Jones, who makes things exciting in March. Or you could have more prudent decision-makers, like the architects of the NFC’s lone unbeaten.
“Carolina is an outstanding team. They’re well-coached. They built a great team. They’re a team that I have to admire when I think about the NFL,” Jones said Thursday night.
“When I look at a team like Carolina, I look at what they do well, how they play on defense, what they’ve got going on offense, the kind of year that Cam Newton is having and how they’re a real example of how to put a team together that is exemplary.”
