Carolina Panthers (0-2) at Dallas Cowboys (1-1)
The coaching hot seat is going to get very hot tonight for either Carolina’s John Fox or Dallas’ Wade Phillips.
Both the Panthers and the Cowboys have Super Bowl aspirations this season. But the Panthers are 0-2 for the fifth time in franchise history, and they have never finished a season with a winning record when losing their first two games. They are 8.5-point betting underdogs tonight on WagerWeb.com.
As for Dallas, Jerry Jones is not going to be happy if his team loses for a second straight week on national television in its new billion-dollar stadium. The Cowboys offense has very good so far, as Dallas leads the NFL in rushing by averaging 184.5 yards per game. The biggest part of that has been RB Marion Barber (6.3 yards per carry), but he is very iffy tonight. He practiced much of this week but on a limited basis with a strained quad suffered in last week’s loss to the Giants.
Phillips continues to weigh whether or not it makes sense for the team’s leading rusher to play. Barber is officially questionable.
“He wants to play,” Phillips said.”I don’t want him to be in a situation where number one, he could be hurt worse and you lose him for a longer amount of time. His game is power. If he’s not as powerful, that could be a factor. It’s so subjective.”
Some reports say the Cowboys are leaning toward holding Barber out, with Felix Jones and Tashard Choice sharing the workload. Barber for sure won’t be active if he can only be used on a limited basis.
Carolina has struggled on both sides of the ball. Jake Delhomme has five interceptions, which was tied for the NFL high leading into Week 3. Since joining Carolina in 2003, Delhomme has a regular-season record of 0-3 vs. Dallas. The Panthers have a great running back duo with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, but are in the middle of the pack with an average of 115 yards per game on the ground. Look for them to try and run more tonight, as the Panthers are 8-0 when Williams rushes for 110 yards or more…
On defense, the Panthers have allowed 28-plus points in four straight regular-season games. Dating Week 12 of 2008, Carolina has given up an average of 30.0 ppg — second-highest in the league.
Dallas has defeated Carolina seven straight times during regular-season play, with six of those decided by seven points or fewer. No team has more wins on Monday Night Football than the Cowboys’ 41.
NFL Betting at WagerWeb.com
(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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#1 by Louise on October 5, 2009 - 12:06 pm
I’m a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and I’m proud to say it… My whole family has been split down the line between Cowboys & Giants. Coincidentally, both my mom & dad are Cowboys fans. Even if I had no connection to the Giants with my family, or if I wasn’t from Dallas, I used to attend their games and next weekend I’m going to visit my friend to attend them.