Diggs continues to shine
ARLINGTON- The Dallas Cowboys hosted the 3-0 Carolina Panthers Sunday, looking to pick up their third consecutive win. After a huge win on Monday Night Football agains the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas was looking to continue their high level of play they’ve opened the season with.
Dallas got on the board first Sunday, scoring on their second drive of the day. After both teams punted to open the day, the Cowboys put together a nine-play drive that resulted in a touchdown. Running back Ezekiel Elliott got the drive started with a 19-yard run, and finished it with a one-yard run for a touchdown, giving the Cowboys an early 7-0 lead.
This started a streak of four consecutive possessions in which the team on offense scored. Carolina quickly tied things up at 7-7 before the Cowboys got the ball back. Once again it was Dallas who scored on another nineplay drive. Tight end Blake Jarwin capped the drive off with an 18-yard touchdown catch before Dallas went for two and failed, making their lead 13-7. Carolina answered back with a touchdown of their own, taking a 14-13 lead at the end of the first half.
The third quarter is when the Cowboys were able to take things up a notch, scoring on their first drive of the half in just four plays. Elliott had three runs for a combined 21 yards, before quarterback Dak Prescott found Amari Cooper for a 35- yard touchdown to take a 20-14 lead.
The Dallas defense matched their offense, forcing the Panthers to punt on the next drive. The Cowboys offense scored quickly, once again only needing four plays to do so. This time it was Dalton Schultz who found the end zone on a six-yard catch.
Leading 26-14, the Dallas defense didn’t slow down any as cornerback Trevon Diggs came up with his fourth interception of the year. The Cowboys offense used the momentum to find the end zone another time, pushing their lead to 33- 14 thanks to a 23-yard touchdown from Cedrick Wilson.
Already looking like one of the best defensive backs in the league, Diggs forced his second interception of the game on the following drive, pushing his total to five on the season.
The Cowboys added another three points after the second interception, pushing their lead to 36- 14. Carolina did their best to claw their way back into the game, and got as close as 36-28, but Dallas would hold them their, picking up the win and improving to 3-1.
Prescott had yet another solid outing for Dallas, although he was asked to do less this time around. Prescott finished with 188 yards passing but had four passing touchdowns, as well as 35 rushing yards on four carries.
Elliott had his strongest game in quite some time, finishing with an impressive 143 rushing yards and one touchdown on 20 attempts. His backup Tony Pollard had another strong showing, picking up 67 yards on 10 tries. The team finished with 245 total rushing yards and averaged 7.2 yards per attempt.
Cooper led the team in receiving, finishing with 69 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Behind him was Schultz who had one touchdown and 58 yards on six catches.
Diggs once again was the leader of the Cowboys defense, coming down with a pair of huge interceptions in the second half. The Dallas defense had a very strong showing, finishing with eight tackles for loss and five sacks, two of which came from captain Randy Gregory.
Rookie Micah Parsons also had as strong showing, sacking the quarterback once while racking up four tackles.
The win improves the Cowboys record to 3-1 and puts them firmly in first place in the NFC East division. Dallas is also tied with Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Carolina and the Los Angeles Rams for the second-best record in the NFC, behind only the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.
Dallas will look to push their winning streak to four games next week, as they host the New York Giants in their third consecutive home game. The Giants enter the game with a 1-3 record, after beating the Saints 27-21 this week.
Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. Sunday and will air on Fox. The Cowboys open as a seven-point favorite against their divisional foe.