By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rico Dowdle went over 200 yards from scrimmage for the second straight week — this time against his former team — and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-27 in a wild back-and-forth game on Sunday.
Bryce Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards and threw two of his three touchdown passes to rookie Tetairoa McMillan to help the Panthers (3-3) improve to 3-0 at home.
Dowdle ran for 183 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers, who beat the Cowboys for the first time in three years at home. Dowdle spent five years with the Cowboys before signing with Carolina as an unrestricted free agent. He has 473 yards from scrimmage over the past two weeks, a franchise record.
McMillan hadn’t caught a touchdown pass in the NFL before Sunday after catching 26 over his three seasons at the University of Arizona, but broke through with TD catches of 19 and 2 yards.
Dak Prescott finished 25 of 34 for 261 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys (2-3-1). Dallas wasted a career-best game from George Pickens, who caught nine passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.
After the Cowboys tied the game with a field goal, Young drove the Panthers 71 yards in 15 plays in a drive that took up more than six minutes to finish the game. At one point, the Cowboys were trying to let the Panthers to score to get the ball back, but running back Trevor Etienne wisely went down after a first down before the end zone.
Young took a knee twice to set up Fitzgerald’s game-winning kick.
Young was 3 of 4 for 25 yards on the final drive, including a huge 7-yard completion on fourth-and-4 to Hunter Renfrow to move the chains. Dowdle added 22 yards on four carries.
Trailing 17-13 at halftime, Young found Dowdle alone along the left sideline for a 36-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to give Carolina its first lead of the game. He later threw a second TD pass to McMillan.
Young continued to struggle with first half turnovers, although this time it was no fault of his own.
McMillan allowed a pass from Young sail through his hands early in the second quarter and Donovan Wilson picked it off and returned it 31 yards to the Carolina 13. That set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Hunter Luepke off a play-action fake on fourth-and-1 giving Dallas a 10-3 lead.
But McMillan, the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL draft, would make up for the mistake on the ensuing possession, breaking off his route and hauling in a 19-yard touchdown reception for his first career TD.
Carolina’s struggles to cover the tight end came back to haunt them in the second quarter as Jake Ferguson got free down the seam for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give Dallas a 17-13 lead heading into halftime.
Up next
Dallas: Hosts Washington on Sunday.
Carolina: Visits the winless New York Jets on Sunday.