For the third consecutive season, the Dallas Cowboys are visiting Bank of America Stadium to take on the Carolina Panthers. The Cowboys also will be looking for their third win in a row in Charlotte.
Both teams are coming off wins last week, although they were against bad teams — the Panthers beat the Dolphins and the Cowboys beat the Jets — but wins are wins in the NFL.
To that point, this game is big for both teams. The Cowboys are missing some key contributors, but still see themselves as a playoff team in Brian Schottenheimer’s first season. The Panthers are looking for consistency, well aware that stringing together back-to-back wins has been rare in recent seasons.
We asked The Athletic’s Jon Machota and Joe Person five questions about the matchup. Here’s what they said:
On a scale of 1-10, how important is it for the team you cover to win this game and why?
Machota: The Cowboys believe they are a playoff-contending team. With that belief, this game is a 10. To make the playoffs, Dallas probably has to win at least 10 games. That seems to be asking for a lot with their schedule. Around eight wins is more realistic.
But if they’re going to get to 10-plus wins, there’s no way a loss can come against the Carolina Panthers. There’s a stretch between Weeks 12 and 17 in which the Cowboys play the Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, Vikings, Chargers and Commanders. Dallas probably needs to win three of those to make the playoffs. If the Cowboys can’t beat the Panthers, it’s unrealistic to think they can win three of those games.
Person: The Panthers don’t have to live with the types of expectations that follow the Cowboys. Year 2 of the Dave Canales era is viewed as part of the building process. The goal — as I see it — is for Bryce Young to take another step in his development, improve on last year’s five-win total and give fans something to feel good about. The Panthers are 2-3 nearing the end of the soft portion of the schedule. The Cowboys are on a different level than the Panthers’ opponents last week (Miami) and next (Jets). But with games against the Bills, Packers, 49ers and Rams on the horizon, Canales needs to bank all the wins he can get. Call it a 7 in terms of importance.
Both teams have struggled defensively this season. Both showed signs of life on D last week, albeit against bad teams. How should fans view that progress?
Machota: It’s still very much a work-in-progress with Dallas’ defense. Although the run defense didn’t look great against the Jets, allowing 6.5 yards per carry, that’s the strength of the group. With Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas in the middle, it’s the best the Cowboys have been at defensive tackle in over a decade. Linebacker remains an issue. The hope is that there will be improvement along the way and then a boost will come from the return of DeMarvion Overshown. The back end didn’t allow as many big plays last week but we’ll need to see more before fully believing those issues have been fixed.
.@Jthouston_4 wraps him 🆙
📺: #DALvsNYJ on FOX
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/RmDxAeCG4M pic.twitter.com/G3pDSwqHJ2
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 5, 2025
Person: The Panthers got healthy last week on a Dolphins’ offense that had just lost Tyreek Hill to a horrific injury. Now, they likely won’t have to face CeeDee Lamb. But the Cowboys have more weapons than Miami, starting with a much better quarterback in Dak Prescott. “He is obviously one of the best quarterbacks and players in this league. And he’s really been playing at a high level for almost a decade now,” defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said. “When he gets hot, he’s as good as anybody, and he’s on a roll right now.” The Panthers made the Dolphins one-dimensional by holding them to an absurd 19 rushing yards. That won’t happen against Javonte Williams. But it’s Prescott and the passing game that could really do damage.
The Panthers will win this game if …
Machota: The Cowboys turn the ball over a few times and Carolina runs anywhere close to how it did last week. Rico Dowdle’s comments about the Cowboys needing to “buckle up” will provide extra motivation for his old teammates. I expect the run defense, at the very least, to be solid. Big plays in the passing game have been an issue, so there should be some opportunities for Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan. The Cowboys will again be without Lamb and KaVontae Turpin, but they should still be able to score points. But everything changes if they can’t take care of the ball. The only game this season they have played well below expectations was Week 3 at Chicago. They lost the turnover battle 4-0.
Person: Young takes care of the ball and the Panthers don’t fall behind early, allowing Canales to feed the ball to Dowdle to try to keep Prescott and the Dallas offense off the field. Young has lost two turnovers in the first half in three of the first five games, and twice has given the ball away on the first two possessions. The Panthers trailed by 17 points in all three games, though they managed to bounce back to beat the Dolphins and tie the biggest comeback in franchise history. But Young can’t have many empty possessions against the Cowboys, who boast the league’s top-ranked offense. Punts won’t necessarily kill the Panthers, but catastrophic plays — as Canales calls them — will.
What a grab by XL for the TD
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/wnpPmfqPS8
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 5, 2025
The Cowboys will win this game if …
Machota: If they take care of the ball and don’t lose any other key starters. Injuries have really started to pile up. Wednesday’s initial injury report included 18 names. They have enough talent to win this game, but they can’t afford to lose anyone else.
Prescott has been playing at an MVP level. While the Panthers have been good against the pass, I expect Prescott to continue to play well. Williams is coming off a career rushing game with four backup offensive linemen starting. The Cowboys should be a little healthier up front entering this one with left tackle Tyler Guyton (concussion) and All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith (knee) having a good chance to return.
Person: Young coughs up the ball and the Panthers let tight end Jake Ferguson go wild. Ferguson’s 41 catches are second only to Puka Nacua’s 52 and equal the most by a tight end through five games in NFL history, matching Eric Johnson (2004) and Zach Ertz (2018). That does not bode well for the Panthers, who have struggled to cover tight ends all season. Darren Waller caught five passes for 78 yards and one touchdown last week, but oddly wasn’t targeted by Tua Tagovailoa in the second half while the Panthers were making their charge.
What is your prediction?
Machota: Cowboys 23, Panthers 17. It’s interesting how much the Panthers have impacted the Cowboys’ roster. Carolina was a team reportedly involved in the Micah Parsons trade discussions, which is interesting because Parsons would have never been a Cowboy if Carolina hadn’t drafted Jaycee Horn. Dallas badly wanted him or Patrick Surtain II that year.
In this year’s draft, Dallas would’ve taken McMillan if he was still there at Pick 12. Instead, he went to Carolina and the Cowboys ended up trading for George Pickens to improve their wide receiver room. I expect a close game with a 10 percent chance of a team owner either waving a middle finger or throwing a drink.
Person: Cowboys 34, Panthers 24. The Panthers haven’t been able to string together wins under Canales, with the exception of a two-game “streak” last year against the Saints and Giants. They followed up a 30-point home win over Atlanta in Week 3 this season by getting blown out by 29 at New England the next week. Dowdle’s career game last week should help open up the play-action game for Young. But it’s hard to see the Panthers matching the Cowboys score for score, Dowdle’s “buckle up” proclamation be damned.
