Carolina Panthers (0-2) at Dallas Cowboys (1-1)

Opening Line: Dallas Cowboys -9 O/U 46

Time: 8:30 PM ET Monday September 28, 2009 on ESPN

by Marasoft.com Staff

In a big game for both teams the Dallas Cowboys host the Carolina Panthers on Monday night. The Cowboys lost a heartbreaker against the New York Giants 33-31 while the Panthers fell to 0-2 with a 28-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. This is a game of 2 QB's that are heading in different directions, as after a horrible first game Jake Delhomme was solid last week while Tony Romo had one of the worst games in his career in the home loss to the Giants. The Cowboys look for their first win of the season at their new billion-dollar stadium in this game.

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USING YOUR CREDIT CARD

The Panthers are led by QB Jake Delhomme (381 yds 1 TD 5 INT) and his main targets are WR's Steve Smith (11 rec 152 yds), who is questionable for this game with an injury, and Muhsin Muhammad (8 rec 88 yds). The Panthers rushing attack is led by the RB duo of DeAngelo Williams (116 yds 2 TD) and Jonathan Stewart (100 yds). The Cowboys are led by Tony Romo (480 yds 4 TD 3 INT) and his main targets are WR Patrick Crayton (5 rec 139 yds 1 TD) and TE Jason Witten (10 rec 104 yds 1 TD). The Cowboys rushing attack is led by the RB duo of Marion Barber (203 yds 2 TD) and Felix Jones (118 yds 1 TD).

The reason the Cowboys were in the game with the Giants despite Romo's bad perfomance was the fact that the Cowboys rushed for 251 yards. The Panthers' D, which has been a disappointment giving up an average of 319 yards per game, has to keep Barber and Jones from having huge games on the ground. Speaking of disappointing defenses the Cowboys have given up an average of 438.5 yards per game in their first 2 games. If the Cowboys struggle again on D they may be in trouble, as the Panthers have legit weapons on offense, especially if Delhomme is consistent.

The Panthers hope Romo has another off game, as if he gets back on track AND the Cowboys can run the ball than they will be in big trouble. The Panthers have not been able to stop the run this season and they will have to do so Monday night or they will get killed. With how both defenses are playing this game may be a high scoring game, which means the QB that can avoid turnovers should win this game.

Neither team can avoid a loss, especially the Panthers who will be 0-3 with a loss and trail the Saints and the Falcons in the NFC South. The Cowboys need to win this game to stay in the tough NFC East race.

The Marasoft Pick: Carolina plus 9 points
Panthers played well enough on the road last week to win and grabbing anything over a touchdown on this game is a bonus.