Refocused, NFL Week 1: Carolina Panthers 16, Dallas Cowboys 8

PFF’s ReFocused series this season features immediate takeaways and a key to the victory from two Senior Analysts who graded the performance, watching every player, on every play of the game.
Carolina Panthers 16, Dallas Cowboys 8 Analyst Takeaways The Cowboys were unable to get much going for three quarters on offense as only Cole Beasley hauled in over 30 yards and the Cowboys had to fight for every yard.
Seemingly no receiver looked capable of making a play downfield.
The Cowboys defense played well enough to win led by edge defender Demarcus Lawrence as he racked up several pressures and got home on a sack off of a stunt.
Cam did well to protect the ball despite his offensive line struggling to keep Dallas’ pass-rushers in check.
The committee of Christian McCaffrey and CJ Anderson, combined with Newton’s legs, kept the chains moving.
McCaffrey excelled in the receiving game, frequently making defenders miss in space and outside of his one fumble, made the most of the blocks his offensive linemen gave him.
Anderson frequently found the open lane and set up the final touchdown with a run down to the one.
The Panthers managed to get a decent push in the run game and late in the game were able to take advantage of the Cowboys’ weakness on the offensive line, however, there still looks to be issues with the pass-rush for the Panthers as they couldn’t get consistent pressure on the quarterback.
Key to the game Carolina: The Panthers were able to control the game by protecting the football (outside of the early fumble by McCaffrey) and using a nice balance of runs and passes.