There are quite a few interesting NFL games on Sunday afternoon, and one that caught my eye was the game going on in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Dallas Cowboys are heading on the road after another brutal loss to the Baltimore Ravens to take on the struggling Carolina Panthers. Both of these teams had high hopes for the 2012-2013 NFL season, and both have failed to live up to expectations. The words “division champs” were tossed around with both of these clubs to some extent, but they both obviously have some major issues to work out before we even talk about that. Both of these teams are in a situation in this game where they really need to get this win, as the Cowboys don’t want to drop to 2-4, and the Panthers definitely can’t afford to drop to 1-5 with how strong the NFC seems this season. Kickoff for this game is set for 1:00pm EST on Sunday afternoon.

The Cowboys just can’t get it together, and then they can’t catch a break. They played well last week against the 5-1 Baltimore Ravens, but couldn’t get the job done after missing a potential tying two point conversion, and then missing a game winning field goal after getting the onside kick. Tough week all-around for the Cowboys, and now they will look to rebound on Sunday without running back DeMarco Murray. Murray is out for at least this week, and this means that they are going to turn to Felix Jones, who showed up with some solid games last year when he had to step in for Murray. The Cowboys did a great job running last week to open up the field for Tony Romo, and they’ll need to do that again on Sunday.

For the Panthers, their defense has to step it up and slow down their opponents. The Cowboys offense still has big play ability, and the Panthers defense hasn’t shown much ability to stop opponents this season. Cam Newton has been frustrated at times and in order for the Panthers to beat the Cowboys and their solid pass defense, he will have to stay focused. Last but not least, I think that the Panthers need to get their running game going again to help out Newton, or else Panthers fans could be in for a long day out in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

• Dallas Cowboys: -1
• Carolina Panthers: +1

Free Prediction and Pick

Many people probably expected this line to be a bit higher than it is, and I’m one of them. The Cowboys may only be 2-3, but when they play well, they seem to have it together. The Panthers on the other hand are surrounded by quite a few question marks and that scares me with this team. The biggest issue though has to be that the match-up’s just don’t go well. The Panthers defense has struggled, the Panthers love to throw the ball, and the Cowboys strongest part of their defense right now is probably their passing game. I’m seeing a touchdown win for the road team in this game.

Pick: Dallas Cowboys -1