The Carolina Panthers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 16-8 in the first game of the Tepper Era to bring the Panthers into a first place tie with the Buccaneers in the NFC South at 1-0. It wasn’t pretty, but the offense did just enough to score 16 points and the defense clamped down to prevent the Cowboys from making a comeback at the end to seal the victory. Mario Addison made a key play late in the 4th quarter by forcing a Dak Prescott fumble, and Captain Munnerlyn was Johnny-on-the-spot and recovered it to seal a win for Carolina.
The Panthers may have won on the scoreboard, but they had two key losses today as tight end Greg Olsen suffered a foot injury in the first quarter and right tackle Daryl Williams re-injured his right knee in the fourth quarter. Hopefully we’ll have a positive update to provide but as of right now, it’s not looking good.
A win’s a win, but the Panthers have some serious work to do if they want to contend in 2018. Hopfully Ron Rivera can right the ship soon.
Live updates
FINAL SCORE: Panthers 16 - Cowboys 8
4th quarter
MARIO ADDISON WITH A FORCED FUMBLE THAT MUNNERLYN RECOVERS! PANTHERS FOOTBALL!
Huge 3rd down here. GET A STOP GUYS
KUECHLY’S BACK
Palardy’s punt goes into the end zone for a touchback.
The Panthers go three and out because Ron Rivera is afraid of taking any risks.
HE’S STANDING ON IT SO THAT IS A GOOD SIGN
Kuechly is being looked at for a leg injury. Please be okay.
TURNOVER ON DOWNS
OH GOD NO. LUKE KUECHLY IS DOWN. PLEASE BE OKAY LUKE.
It’s 4th and 10. Time to shine, defense.
Delay of game on Dallas. 3rd and 23. NEED A STOP NOW GUYS.
It’s 3rd and 18. GET. A. STOP.
KAWANN SHORT WITH A HUGE SACK
LOL of course. An illegal contact penalty turns 3rd and 15 to 1st and 10.
Wes Horton with a HUGE sack to force 2nd and long.
The Cowboys are moving the ball easily. Already at midfield. I don’t like this game anymore.
Aaaaand Cam gets sacked. 4th down.
Cam to Funchess picks up 12 yards. That’s good, but it’s now 3rd and 14. That’s not good.
Daryl Williams carted off. Silatolu at RT. This is not ideal.
CMC with the carry for four yards, and Daryl Williams is down on the field. This isn’t good.
TOUCHDOWN COWBOYS: Ezekiel Elliott takes the option pitch from Dak Prescott and dives into the end zone. The two-point conversion is good. Panthers 16 - Cowboys 8
Apparently holding is okay now, as Dallas just did to allow Prescott to escape.
Donte Jackson hit with a harsh pass interference penalty.
TOUCHDOWN PANTHERS! Alex Armah finishes the drive with his first career touchdown. Gano’s XP is no good after J.J. Jansen snaps it off Silatolu’s knee and hilarity ensued when Palardy picked it up and had no idea what to do. Panthers 16 - Cowboys 0
C.J. Anderson carries to the 1-yard line. First and goal. Touchdown, please.
END OF 3RD QUARTER: Panthers 10 - Cowboys 0
3rd quarter
The Cowboys get busted for offsides to give the Panthers a free five yards.
Funchess runs a GREAT route and Cam finds him for another first down.
OPTION PITCH! Cam finds CMC on the option for another first down.
Cam comes out firing and finds Devin Funchess for 15 yards.
Cowboys attempt a 47-yard field goal and it is NO GOOD. Panthers 10 - Cowboys 0
Mike Adams with a key tackle on Elliott to force a 4th down.
After a holding penalty and two short gains, the Panthers have forced 3rd and 7. A stop here would be great.
Butler jogs off the field so that’s a good sign.
Vernon Butler is down after being blocked low by La’el Collins. Hopefully he’s okay.
The Panthers go three and out because we can’t have nice things. I don’t like this at all.
D.J. Moore calls for the fair catch and the Panthers take over at their own 15-yard line.
The Panthers get a stop on 3rd down and will get the ball back.
Cowboys are starting to move on offense. This is not ideal, guys.
Palardy with a great punt to pin the Cowboys inside their own 10-yard line. A big play by the defense would be good here, I think.
And Cam gets sacked to force 4th down. Welp.
Two plays later it’s 3rd and 13. This is less than good.
The next play is an encroachment penalty to give the Panthers a first down.
The next play is a 9-yard run by C.J. Anderson. This is good. More of this.
First play of scrimmage is a pass to Christian McCaffrey for a first down.
HALFTIME: Panthers 10 - Cowboys 0
2nd quarter
FIELD GOAL PANTHERS: Graham Gano’s FG attempt is good. Panthers 10 - Cowboys 0
Graham Gano comes out for the FG attempt.
Panthers stop the clock with :07 left.
Cam avoided the sack and picked up a yard.
Solid effort by McCaffrey to stretch and pick up the first down.
Is this good?
h/t to @NFLonFOX for the head start on this stat: Panthers have run 19 plays in DAL territory today. Cowboys have run none in CAR territory.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) September 9, 2018
A screen pass to Christian McCaffrey gets back most of the yards. It’s now 3rd and 3.
Funchess drops a first down pass from Cam, and to make matters worse Ryan Kalil is hit with a 15-yard facemask penalty. Not ideal.
Cam to Torrey Smith for another first down.
Jarius Wright with a good catch and run on the screen, then fumbles it but thankfully recovers it. 1st and 10.
Two straight runs by C.J. Anderson gives the Panthers 1st and 10 at midfield. Two-minute warning. Panthers 7 - Cowboys 0
D.J. Moore returns the punt 15 yards and is given an extra 15 after the Cowboys commit a penalty. Panthers with decent field position to try and get more points before the half.
Panthers defense holds again and forces another punt.
Kawann Short is pretty good.
KK Short just became the first Panthers DT to ever have 30 career sacks. He now has 30.5.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) September 9, 2018
Some discouraging news about Olsen:
It is a foot injury for Greg Olsen. He’s been ruled out for the rest of the game.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) September 9, 2018
TOUCHDOWN PANTHERS! Cam keeps it and takes it into the end zone for the score. The XP is good. Panthers 7 - Cowboys 0
On 1st and goal, CMC takes it to the 4-yard line.
Christian McCaffrey just bullied Sean Lee and picked up a first down.
Cam’s pass to Torrey Smith was almost intercepted after Sean Lee tipped it at the line of scrimmage.
I don’t know how he did it, but Jarius Wright made a great catch for a first down.
We lasted until 10 minutes in the 2nd quarter before using a timeout with 5 seconds on the play clock. Progress.
DAMIERE BYRD PUNT RETURN Y’ALL! Panthers are in business on the Cowboys 35-yard line.
Panthers force a three and out. Byrd back to return the punt.
SHAQ ATTACK! BIG SACK ON DAK PRESCOTT!
Not good, Bob.
Greg Olsen walking to the locker room.
— Bryan Strickland (@PanthersBryan) September 9, 2018
The Panthers are unable to move the ball any more and have it 4th and 10. Palardy on to punt.
Damiere Byrd is back on the sidelines
— Kelsey Riggs (@KelseyRiggsWCNC) September 9, 2018
END OF 1ST QUARTER: Panthers 0 - Cowboys 0
1st quarter
Cam runs the play-action bootleg and picks up an easy first down.
Newton to Olsen makes up most of the yardage. 3rd and 1.
A holding call on Trai Turner negates a big gain by Devin Funchess. 1st and 20.
Cam finds Greg Olsen for a big gain and a first down.
Byrd is now under evaluation in the concussion tent. Hopefully he’s okay.
Damiere Byrd returns the punt to the 18 yard line. Panthers to take over on offense.
Defense holds because Luke Kuechly is good.
Panthers have forced another 3rd and long. A stop here would be ideal.
Holding penalty on Captain Munnerlyn gives Dallas a free five yards and an automatic 1st down. Not good.
Christian McCaffrey fumbles on 3rd and 2, and Dallas recovers. Not good, Bob.
Play-action to Ian Thomas for a gain of 7 on 2nd and 9. I like that play.
CAAAAAAAM. Huge gain on 1st down. More of this, please.
Cam with the QB dive on 3rd and 2 for the first down.
Caaaaam. On 2nd and 18, Newton picks up 16 yards on a designed run.
Taylor Moton called for holding. Not good, Tay. 1st and 20.
Cam can’t find Funchess on 3rd down, but the Panthers benefit from a roughing the passer penalty on DeMarcus Lawrence. 1st down.
Cam with a keeper on 2nd down, but also goes nowhere. 3rd and 10.
The Panthers first play on offense is a screen to Christian McCaffrey that goes nowhere.
Fair catch by Damiere Byrd on the Panthers 32-yard line.
Dallas runs on 3rd and 26—yes, you read that right—and gets shut down.
A delay of game penalty makes it 3rd and 26.
After a 10-yard penalty, Luke Kuechly shuts down Elliott again. 3rd and 21.
Ezekiel Elliott is stuffed at the line for no gain on the first play from scrimmage.
Gano’s kick sails into the end zone for a touchback.
The Panthers win the coin toss and defer to the 2nd half. The Panthers will start on defense.
The Panthers are taking on the Cowboys today at Bank of America Stadium in the season opener for both teams. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET after a 10-minute weather delay from the original time of 4:25 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned here for live updates when the game begins.
LET’S GO PANTHERS!
Pregame
The Panthers welcome the Cowboys into Bank of America Stadium to open the 2018 season on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET in what should be a great season opener between two NFC teams who are expecting great things in 2018.
Below you can find all the information you need to catch the action as it happens live.
Game day information
What: Carolina Panthers vs Dallas Cowboys
When: Sunday, September 9 at 4:25 p.m. ET
Where: Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC)
TV: FOX; Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Mike Pereira (Coverage map)
Radio: Panthers radio (local); Mick Mixon, Jim Szoke, Eugene Robinson, Kevin Donnalley
Spanish Radio: Panthers radio (local); Jaime Moreno, Luis Moreno Jr
Weather: 82°/69° / Scattered T’Storms / 6 mph ENE wind / 40% precip. (Complete forecast)
Miscellaneous information
Mobile app
You can download the official Panthers app to get live score updates during the game straight to your phone. Also, if you live in the NC/SC market you can listen to the live radio broadcast of every game with the app. You can find the Panthers app in your phone’s app store or you can download the app here.
Online Streaming
If you don't live in the Panthers television market, you can stream all NFL preseason and regular season games on demand if you purchase NFL Game Pass. It's a little pricey at $99, but it also includes access to All-22 film. If you're just desperate to watch the Panthers game there is a 7-day free trial, but sign up at your own risk if you're one of those people who forgets to cancel before the free trial is over.
*Note: You cannot watch regular season games live with this option. You have to wait until after the games are over before you can stream them. You can find more information here.
TV Replays
NFL Network will air condensed replays of a selected group of regular season games throughout the week. To see if/when the Panthers’ game will be replayed, you can check NFL Network’s television schedule for more information.
Roaring Riot Watch Parties
If you’re unable to watch the game via live tv or streaming, or if you prefer to watch in the company of fellow Panthers fans, check out the Roaring Riot to see if there is a watch party in your area. Membership is not required to get in the door, but if you’re interested in purchasing a membership you can find all the information you need here.
Uniforms
The Panthers will wear white uniforms for this game.
Odds
If you're into that sort of thing, you can find info on NFL game odds by clicking here.
Stay tuned for a live update thread when the game kicks off at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday!
Panthers next four opponents
Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons; Sun, Sep 16, 1 p.m. ET
Week 3: vs Cincinnati Bengals; Sun, Sep 23, 1 p.m. ET
Week 4: BYE WEEK
Week 5: vs New York Giants; Sun, Oct 7, 1 p.m. ET
Week 6: at Washington; Sun, Oct 14, 1 p.m. ET