ARLINGTON, Texas – Carolina coach Ron Rivera sees a Dallas team on the verge of a run with Tony Romo back and trying to keep the Cowboys in the playoff picture.
Rivera should know. That’s exactly what the Panthers did a year ago.
Cam Newton’s team rallied from 3-8-1 to win four straight and qualify for the postseason. This time, Carolina is 10-0 for the first time in franchise history, making its Thanksgiving debut Thursday against the Cowboys (3-7). A win would be the Cowboys’ 30th on Thanksgiving.
Dallas just snapped a seven-game losing streak that covered all the games Romo missed with a broken collarbone, and four of the games All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant was out with a fractured foot.
“Their best receiver has been hurt, their tight end has been hurt, their running game is still in flux because it’s just starting to develop and the runner is getting used to the blockers, and the blockers are just getting used to the quarterback being back,” Rivera said of the defending NFC East champions. “They’re, I think, on the cusp of getting ready to start rolling again.”
Romo has a knack for winning these games. According to STATS, he’s the only quarterback in NFL history with multiple wins against teams that were 9-0 or better – Indianapolis (9-0) in his fourth career start in 2006 and New Orleans (13-0) three years later.
While Newton and the Panthers are trying to “manage our success,” as Rivera put it, and in prime position for a first-round bye in the playoffs, Romo does at least share one thing with Carolina’s dual-threat star. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback is undefeated this season, too – in three starts.
“I just think we won a football game,” Romo said when asked if last week’s 24-14 victory at Miami was a lift for a fading team that somehow is only two games behind the division-leading New York Giants.
“As far as going into this week, it’s such a short week you just forget about last week and you have to move right on. You get about four to six hours of enjoyment with it and then you are right on to Carolina.”
The Panthers have an NFL-best 14-game winning streak in the regular season, and are coming off a 44-16 rout of Washington, Dallas’ division rival.
And yet Carolina was merely a pick-em on the betting line Wednesday. According to pregame.com, an undefeated team has never been an underdog against a team with a losing record in Week 10 or later.
Chalk it up to the power of Romo’s return.
“We’ve never really pretty much paid attention to anybody being the underdog or whatnot,” Newton said. “It really is irrelevant. For us, it’s just be ready to go on Thursday.”
