Defense may have to carry team
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — DeMarcus Lawrence, for once, didn’t want to talk about the Cowboys pass rush Sunday.
The defensive end sacked Carolina quarterback Cam Newton on third down to get the ball back for the offense in a one-possession game with just under five minutes to go, preying on a compromised offensive line in the second half.
The defense held the Panthers below 20 points in the eventual 16-8 loss.
But as it became pain- fully evident at rain-soaked Bank of America Stadium, this offense is going to need more help.
In this role reversal for the Cowboys, if the defense is going to carry the team in 2018, it will have to raise the bar even more.
“Plays don’t matter if you don’t win,” Lawrence said. “Sacks don’t add up if you don’t win. I don’t play just to get sacks, I play to win.”
The Cowboys couldn’t handle Newton in the first half, particularly on the run, when the Panthers built a 10-0 lead. Newton passed for 102 yards and rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on seven carries by halftime. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished the day with 50 yards on 10 carries and 45 yards receiving on six catches.
Veteran linebacker Sean Lee and others had trouble bringing them down. Lee dismissed his limited playing time in the preseason as a factor.
“They’re great athletes, strong, just did a poor job wrapping them up, espe- cially me in the first half,” Lee said. “That is unaccept- able tackling I did today.”
Linebacker Jaylon Smith said the Cowboys cleared up confusion about assignments when Newton took to the run over halftime. Newton had minus-6 rushing yards in the second half.
Carolina lost right tackle Daryl Williams to injury in the fourth quarter on an already hurting offensive line. The Cowboys got to Newton for three sacks.
Carolina was also playing without tight end Greg Olsen, who exited the game with a foot injury after the first quarter, when he had two catches for 33 yards.
“We put pressure on them, but it’s not enough in a tight game like that,” Lawrence said. “[Newton] was feeling himself a little too much, so we got to do better.”
The defense made a key
save on Carolina’s opening drive of the game. McCaffrey rushed the ball from the Dallas 5, but defensive tackle Daniel Ross stripped the ball out of his grasp, which Lawrence recovered.
But the Cowboys couldn’t convert on other chances to take the ball away. Jeff Heath just missed a diving interception on a tipped ball. The Panthers, who started the drive in cushy field position on Dallas’ 35, went on to score a touchdown on Newton’s 4-yard read-option romp.
Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie forced a fumble in the second quarter, but Dallas didn’t recover. The Panthers went on to score on a field goal.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott said the offense put the defense in too many bad positions Sunday. True.
But the defense this season must cash in on the chances it gets and make more game-swaying turnovers and plays.
“We definitely need more,” defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford said. “We know we can.”