• The Panthers’ run defense is on a hot streak: The Miami Dolphins’ and Dallas Cowboys’ run games were no match for Carolina’s unit in Weeks 5 and 6, respectively.

• Everything is coming together in Carolina: Bryce Young is playing better, Rico Dowdle is wreaking havoc and the team’s run-defense unit is a brick wall.

• The Carolina Panthers are winners of two straight after beating the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6: Dive into the PFF game recap for advanced stats, snap counts, early player grades and more!

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The Carolina Panthers’ run defense opened the season as a perceived prime target for opposing ground games, having fallen into several negative game scripts one year ago en route to an NFL-worst 37.4 PFF run-defense grade. And through the first four weeks of the 2025 campaign, that thought became fact. The unit’s average run-game tackle was coming 5.24 yards downfield — the third-worst mark in the NFL.

Then Week 5 arrived, and the group stymied the Miami Dolphins’ rushing attack. Carolina tackled Miami’s backs a league-low 1.08 yards downfield on average. The result? A 27-24 win.

Perhaps it was a fluke. Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams in Week 6 would be another test, as he had amassed the second-most yards after contact (326) in the NFL among qualifying running backs.

The Panthers’ run defense was up to the challenge again. The unit limited Williams and the rest of the Cowboys’ run game to just 31 yards — all of which came after contact and more (the Cowboys logged 33 yards after contact) — and tied a season-high in tackles for loss or no gain (six).

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The outcome, again, was a win. The Panthers now sit at 3-3, just two wins shy of their 2024 total and already one win more than their disastrous 2023 campaign. There are a lot of factors at play — rookie Tetairoa McMillan is serving as a much-needed reliable target for quarterback Bryce Young, the offensive line is starting to find its footing, and running back Rico Dowdle is running rampant.

But the little things are the difference between a tight loss and a tight win, and Carolina’s run defense deserves plenty of credit for the team’s back-to-back three-point victories. The group didn’t record a missed tackle in run defense in either win.

Between Weeks 5 and 6, no team boasts a higher PFF run-defense grade (among teams that have played through Sunday’s early slate).

*Grades subject to change after All-22 reviews of Week 6

Bobby Brown III, A’Shawn Robinson, Derrick Brown and Christian Rozeboom each notched multiple run stops against Dallas before All-22 reviews. Ten Panthers got in on the action overall.

Meanwhile, Young sports the eighth-best PFF passing grade (77.3, pending reviews) and has made the most big-time throws in the NFL (six) over the past two weeks.

Everything seems to be coming together for Carolina, a winner of two straight. The Panthers look like a sneaky challenger in the NFC North, albeit with the Buccaneers appearing to be well in control.