No. 2: The Panthers defense will hold Dallas under 100 yards rushing
In this game, the biggest position group matchup is the Panthers front seven versus the Cowboys offensive line and rushing attack. Dallas’ offensive line is regarded as one of the best in the league, while the Panthers had a top-three defense against the run last season.
Considering the Cowboys wide receiver corps got worse this offseason, they will rely on the running game even more in 2018. Plus, handing it to a top-five running back in Ezekiel Elliott is always a good option.
Although, I foresee the Panthers won’t allow Elliott to rush for over 100 yards in this game.
The first reason is that the stellar Cowboys offensive line is not fully healthy. Travis Frederick, the Cowboys center, will miss this game, which is key. Carolina has two star defensive tackles in Kawann Short and Dontari Poe. Short and Poe are difficult to contain,in general. Now, Cowboys backup center Joe Looney will have to face the duo.
Besides Poe and Short, the Panthers have one of, if not the best, front seven in the NFL. Luke Kuechly is the best linebacker in the league and will be everywhere Elliot tries to run on Sunday. Next to Kuechly, the outside linebackers are Thomas Davis and Shaq Thompson. The three together make up possibly the best linebacker core in the entire league.
Dallas will run the ball about 20 or 25 times on Sunday versus the Panthers. Their run game will be very unsuccessful against this very stout Panther front seven. Elliott’s yards per rushing attempt will be low, about three yards or lower.
With Elliott basically useless running the ball, that’s just another reason why Carolina will win this game.