Cowboys waste George Pickens' monster day with Panthers loss

Adam Schultz

Cowboys waste George Pickens' monster day with Panthers loss image

© Scott Kinser

The Dallas Cowboys slumped to a 30-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium, and in doing so, wasted one serious game from receiver George Pickens.

With CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin both still on the sidelines, it was another chance for Pickens to show he is a true No. 1 receiver...and he did.

A serious day was had with Pickens hauling in nine receptions for 168 yards and what was his career high, sixth touchdown of the season. It now marks five straight games that George has had a touchdown reception and his second 100+ yard game in his last three outings as he stepped up yet again for the offense.

But George's day was wasted by Matt Eberflus' defense, who simply couldn't stop Rico Dowdle and the Carolina offense, allowing them to run the clock down after getting the ball with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter.

A day that should have been a happy occasion for the Cowboys turned into a horror show, as the defense failed to slow the Panthers down.

More: Why did Rico Dowdle leave the Cowboys? Panthers RB makes Dallas pay for free agency decision

Dowdle destroys Dallas

Rico told his former team to buckle up, and they didn't heed his message.

Dowdle was a menace all day for Eberflus' defense, rushing for 183 yards on 30 carries while also having four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.

The Cowboys' run defense continues to be a problem, although we were told the trade of Micah Parsons would help it, as Eberflus' unit again got gashed on the ground and to not be able to stop Carolina in the final six minutes of the game, which included a fourth-and-three conversion, yeah, that's bad.

Dallas now drops to 2-3-1 on the season, and this defense continues to be the team's Achilles heel.

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Adam Schultz

Adam Schultz is a freelance writer at The Sporting News. An Australian journalist with years of experience covering the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL, Adam has interviewed several high-profile athletes in Australia for various sites and brings a unique view on the NFL.