What an absolute mess of a fourth quarter the Panthers had on Sunday night. Dallas, down 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter, put 25 points on the board to crush Carolina 35-14 and rebound from a bad Monday night performance against the Giants.
Starting his first NFL game under center, Tony Romo looked rather poised and comfortable in the pocket while throwing for 270 yards and one score. Romo connected with the ultimate coconut Terrell Owens nine times for 107 yards. Who knows how long this marriage will last, but Owens looked happier than a pig in slop with Romo looking his way on virtually every passing play. Nevertheless, it worked and Romo is 1-0 as a starter and Bill Parcels can breath easier for at least one night.
All you heard after Steve Smith returned to the lineup and Carolina rattled off four straight wins was how the Panthers were “back”. Yeah, Carolina’s back all right – back to looking like major overachievers. Jake Delhomme looks like the ultimate pain in the ass when he’s losing, but he certainly didn’t get any help from his receivers. Carolina dropped passes left and right on this guy and Keyshawn Johnson dropped a potential first down (if not a touchdown) reception when the Panthers could have really built a nice lead in the second half.
Most impressed with: How about the Dallas defense since we already talked about Romo? The Cowboys held Carolina to a modest 204 yards of total offense and limited Smith to six catches for 55 yards. Even though he scored on a reverse, Smith didn’t really have any game-altering plays like he displays on most Sundays. Dallas also forced three turnovers, including a key fumble on a Carolina kickoff, which eventually turned into seven points for the Cowboys.
Least impressed with: The Panthers on a whole were just lousy. Turnovers were one thing, but Dallas kept shooting itself in the foot all night with penalties and Carolina never took advantage of it. The Panthers defense allowed Romo to pick them apart (especially on third down conversations) all night and rarely did he have major pressure on him. And I’m sorry, I know he’s explosive with the ball in his hands, but Smith has no business trying to return punts from the two-yard line.
