The Cowboys and Panthers have played just 15 times, including two postseason meetings. Those games have tended to lean in Dallas’s favor, with the Cowboys posting a 5-2 record at home and going 5-3 all-time in Charlotte.
But this season has seen the Cowboys put up their weakest performances on the road, going just 2-3 in their away games thus far. In an early-afternoon timeslot and in their own Eastern-time-zone building, the struggling Panthers and their fans might see it a golden opportunity to bring the noise and shock the world.
Their head coach, however, seems to be preparing for just the opposite. Carolina’s Frank Reich confirmed this week that the Panthers offense has been working in practice on a silent count, indicating that the team is expecting a large contingent of rowdy Cowboys fans to make Bank of America Stadium feel almost like a Dallas home game.
Panthers in the weird situation where Frank Reich said they practiced silent count this week in the event they need it Sunday when a whole bunch of Cowboys' fans are expected to populate Bank of America Stadium.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 17, 2023
The ticket marketplace Vivid Seats uses proprietary data to project attendance outcomes, and their algorithm suggests that Cowboys fans could make up as much as 60% of the crowd in Charlotte on Sunday.
“I think everybody knows how well Dallas travels,” said Reich. “We have a great city that other fans like to come to. We’re prepared; we’ve practiced silent count this week if we have to use it. So we’re prepared either way.”
Panthers Wire’s Anthony Rizzuti points out that the team has seen home-stadium takeovers by other fanbases in recent seasons, including the Eagles, Patriots, 49ers, and the Vikings twice.
Working off a silent count may actually benefit the Panthers offense and rookie quarterback Bryce Young; Carolina is tied for the league lead in false start penalties in 2023.
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For the Cowboys, who are already double-digit favorites to win, having their own vocal support presence in the stands will certainly help. The team is undefeated at home thus far, something coaches and players alike attribute, in part, to their fans.
“Our fans are huge,” said wide receiver Brandin Cooks on Sunday, after a crowd of 93,338 watched them demolish the Giants 49-17 in Arlington. “They come out whether it’s a noon game, 3:25 game, night game. The energy that they bring us to get us going? Shout out to the fans for always showing up and being ready for us.”
Sounds like they may show up in force this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Carolina Panthers are bracing for it.
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