CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Quarterback Bryce Young's four turnovers were a major factor in the Carolina Panthers' loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday but the team's defense did not do much to help matters.
The Panthers allowed career backup Cooper Rush to throw three touchdown passes and Rico Dowdle to gain a career-high 149 yards rushing.
Outside of two scoring drives, the Panthers offense sputtered for the whole contest. Young took responsibility for the team's lackluster performance.
"I let the team down today," Young said in a postgame news conference. "I gotta be better for the team. We all have that mindset."
It was Young's worst performance since he regained the starting role. Young was on a positive trajectory for the preceding five weeks with two wins and three straight clutch performances in losses against playoff-caliber teams. Young's struggles on Sunday may not be of major concern considering his progress this season, but Carolina's defense will need to improve in order for the team to be competitive.
Carolina's defense allowed the Cowboys to gain 211 yards rushing. It's the fifth time this season a team has gained over 200 yards on the ground against the Panthers. Dowdle is the seventh running back to gain at least 100 yards against the Panthers this season.
The Panthers have now allowed 2,422 yards rushing to opposing teams. That mark is just the 31st-worst -- 3rd worst in this century -- in modern league history after 14 games, but Carolina is on pace to go beyond that.
With 173 yards rushing allowed per game, the Panthers are on pace to end the year with 2,941 yards rushing allowed. That would be the sixth-worst total in modern league history. The NFL added a 17th regular season game in 2021, opening the door for previous records to be beaten. On a per-game basis, the 173 yards per game would be the 15th-worst mark in modern league history.
When asked about the Panthers struggles at stopping the run, Panthers head coach Dave Canales said they need to study more film.
"We just gotta... look at the fundamentals of the call where people are supposed to be getting guys down [and] keeping them from getting those extra yards," Canales said. "We just got to return to the basics... of how this call is supposed to be fit versus these styles of runs."
Either way, the Panthers set a franchise record in Sunday's loss for the most yards rushing allowed in a season. The 2001 Panthers set the previous mark at 2,301 yards rushing allowed in 16 games. This year's Panthers crossed that line after 14 games.
Keeping points off the board has also been a problem for Carolina's defense. The Panthers allow a league-worst 29.9 points per game for a total of 418. If the Panthers allow 53 more points, they will beat the 2019 Panthers in the category.
The Panthers are on pace to allow 508 points this season, which would be the fifth-worst total in modern league history. The team's points per game allowed mark would be the 15-worst in modern league history.
Injuries to key players like defensive end Derrick Brown, linebacker Shaq Thompson, and linebacker Josey Jewell have thinned out the team's depth.
As impressive as Young and the offense have looked at times, the defensive play will need some adjustments for the Panthers to be successful.