Yes, the Dallas Cowboys are 3-7 and the Carolina Panthers are 10-0. However, the home-sided Cowboys are favored by a point for Thanksgiving’s matchup. Being a favorite by one point makes this game basically a pick’em matchup.
Being undefeated at this point in the season is quite impressive. Cam Newton is deserving of all the MVP praise he is getting. And while the Cowboys need a lot of things to fall into place for them to make the playoffs, it needs to be said that the Cowboys are also undefeated when Tony Romo is starting at quarterback.
Week 12’s matchup against the Panthers will be extremely important for Dallas. With a Cowboys win and a Giants loss, Dallas would be just one game behind in the NFC East. That said, getting a win in this game would do wonders for this team. However, if the Cowboys are to win this game, they will need to win in the trenches, which will obviously be much easier said than done.
An offensive line headlined by Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, and La’el Collins is obviously one that should be reckoned with. This offensive line is one of the bests in football. However, the Panthers’ defensive line consisting of Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei, Charles Johnson, and Jared Allen is also one to be reckoned with.
When you look at battles between these two teams, the trenches battle will be the one to watch and it will also be the one that will likely decide the final outcome of this game. The Cowboys are at their best with they are opening up the defense with their running game. Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis will be in the way though.
For the Cowboys to win this game, the offensive line will need to have its best game of the year. When Romo is playing, the offensive line is able to play much better because they know of their quarterback’s elusiveness. This will be the offensive line’s toughest task of the year and if they can win this positional battle, Dallas will be able to dictate the time of possession battle and how this game will turn out.
