Cooper Rush threw for two of his three touchdowns in the third quarter as the Dallas Cowboys pulled away from the Carolina Panthers for a 30-14 victory on Sunday afternoon at Charlotte.
CeeDee Lamb had 116 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine catches and Rico Dowdle rushed for a career-high 149 yards on 25 carries for Dallas (6-8), which is trying to stay in playoff contention. Brandon Aubrey kicked three field goals.
The Cowboys recovered from a potentially devastating turn of events late in the first half.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young committed three of his four turnovers — two interceptions and a pair of fumbles — in the game’s first 31 minutes. He threw for 219 yards on 19-for-28 passing, but Carolina (3-11) lost its fourth consecutive game. Young ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
After leading 10-7 at halftime, the Cowboys broke the game open following Young’s fumble on the first play from scrimmage of the third quarter. Rush found Jalen Tolbert from 11 yards out for a touchdown for the first points of a 17-0 blitz that spanned 13-plus minutes of game time.
Rush hooked up with Jalen Brooks for a 17-yard touchdown about midway through the third quarter. The Cowboys went up 27-7 on Aubrey’s 45-yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourth.
Dallas scored first when Rush threw to Lamb, who made a diving catch in the end zone on a 14-yard play. Aubrey’s 52-yard field goal stretched the Cowboys’ lead to 10-0 with 4:05 to go in the second quarter.
The Cowboys were in position to stretch the lead again in the final minute of the first half, moving inside the Carolina 15-yard line. But Rush had an unforced fumble, with the Panthers recovering.
On the next play, Young threw to Jalen Coker, who was uncovered and raced to the end zone for an 83-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left in the half. It was the longest pass play of Young’s two-year career.
Dallas aimed for a quick response before halftime, but Aubrey was short on what would have been an NFL-record 70-yard field goal.
–Field Level Media
