Nick Harris: Five things to watch in Dallas Cowboys-Carolina Panthers game

The playoff chances for the Dallas Cowboys are hanging on by a thread going into their week 15 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, as head coach Mike McCarthy’s group has less than a one-percent chance of playing in the postseason.

Not done, just yet, and the Cowboys know that.

“At the end of the day, we still got to win the game,” wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said on Thursday. “That’s the motivation.”

To do that, they will have to travel on the road and take down the 3-10 Panthers who have lost three consecutive games to the Chiefs, Buccaneers and Eagles by a total of just 12 points.

Here is what to watch when the game kicks off on Sunday.

Chuba’s Hot Streak

The threat that the Panthers have put forth in recent weeks begins and ends with their running game. Behind fourth-year running back Chuba Hubbard who is one of six running backs around the league that has rushed for over 1,000 yards, the Panthers have been able to compete with playoff contenders in recent weeks.

“I think they’re doing a good job up front,” defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said. “The run game, they get after people. I think he’s a really good back. He seems to fall forward all of the time and get those extra yards. He gets low, makes good cutback lanes.”

Hubbard will look to build on a five-game stretch that has seen him rush for 418 yards and five touchdowns against a Cowboys rush defense that’s 30th in the NFL with 141.9 rushing yards allowed per game.

Replacing Overshown

The Cowboys defense was dealt yet another major blow last week when linebacker DeMarvion Overshown saw his leg get wrapped under an opposing player before bending backwards and tearing the ACL, MCL and PCL in his right knee.

With his season over and his 2025 campaign in serious jeopardy, the Cowboys will turn to rookie linebacker Marist Liufau to account for Overshown’s presence. In a little more than 10 minutes of game time in the fourth quarter last week, Liufau accounted for 1.5 sacks and was active in the run game. He will look to do the same against Carolina.

“His passion, his ability,” McCarthy said about what stands out. “He’s a striker, plays with great intensity. Has done some good things on special teams. A young guy who needs opportunities, continues to play well. I really like the way he filled in once [Overshown] went down. He’s another bright spot of this rookie class.”

In 13 games and five starts this season, Liufau has accounted for 26 tackles including two tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.

Big Day for the Offense?

While the Panthers offense has started to find a stride in recent weeks, the defense in Carolina…well, it hasn’t found a stride all season.

In his second season as defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero’s unit is at the bottom of the league in points allowed (32nd in the NFL with 29.8 allowed per game), rush defense (32nd in the NFL with 170.1 yards allowed per game) and total defense (31st in the NFL 384.4 total yards allowed per game).

As a result, there will be opportunities for a Cowboys run game that has found consistency in the last three games behind Rico Dowdle, as he’s helped a rushing offense that is 11th in the NFL with 123 rushing yards per game over the last three weeks.

In the pass game, Cooper Rush will look to rebound from a game against the Bengals that saw him complete just 51.6-percent of his passes for 183 yards. He’ll have opportunities against a pass defense that has picked off just seven passes all season.

Familiar Face

One of the options that Rush will have at his disposal will be second-year wide receiver Jonathan Mingo.

After being drafted by the Panthers in the second round of the 2023 draft, the Cowboys acquired Mingo in exchange for a fourth-round pick ahead of the trade deadline last month. While he has been used as a pivotal outside blocker in the run game, his receiving presence has yet to come into form with just two receptions for 10 yards on 11 targets.

“I’m just trying to go win and make plays, same mindset every week,” Mingo said on Thursday. “I don’t have no grudge against nobody. I’m just trying to go help this team win, that’s all.”

Mingo’s mother, father, brother and girlfriend will be in attendance from the stands as he’ll have a brief homecoming with his family before taking the field.

Young, Wild and Free

It hasn’t been an ideal start to the career for 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young in Carolina, but his last few games have offered fans a glimpse of what the Panthers front office saw from the Alabama product’s college days that earned him a Heisman Trophy in Tuscaloosa.

After a rough start to his second season in the league, Young was benched for veteran Andy Dalton in week three. After five starts for the former Cowboys backup quarterback, Young was put back into the mix. Since then, he has put together two wins and three close losses against playoff contenders.

“Playmaking, I think that’s the thing you really see,” McCarthy said. “He’s obviously comfortable there in the first year of their new offense. His quarterback coach is doing a great job, so I’m really proud of him…I think he has a good feel for their offense, but the thing that I’ve seen that’s different compared to last year is definitely his playmaking ability in the extended play phase. He’s been doing a really good job.”

Young has thrown for 250.7 yards per game in his last three contests. In his 2023 matchup against Dallas, he threw for 123 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked a career-high seven times in that matchup.