Carolina Panthers: Josh Norman Is The Man To Watch

The Carolina Panthers are prepping to play the Dallas Cowboys for Thanksgiving in what is an important matchup for this team. Not because they are fighting for a playoff slot, but because the Panthers are playing at a moment in which the world is watching their every move. An undefeated team against a 3-7 Cowboys unit may not have much intrigue, but there are many important matchups to watch on the field. One of which pits Josh Norman against Dez Bryant. If the Panthers are to control this game, Norman must perform well, even if the spotlight doesn’t shine on is work.

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Bryant’s importance to the Cowboys offense is very relevant. The outspoken wide receiver isn’t having a huge statistical season, but what has been missing is his quarterback in Tony Romo. Romo is expected to make a return in this game, which means a potential increase in targets to Bryant. If he has a big game, which he is more than capable of doing, then the Panthers’ undefeated streak will be in jeopardy.

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That is where Norman comes into the conversation. The fourth year player is having a great year, even though he isn’t showing up in the box score as often. Early in the season, opposing quarterbacks were prone to test out his skills and quickly found themselves on the losing side of that battle. Norman had four interceptions in the first four games of the year. He also defended eight passes during that same time.

Norman’s emergence was surprising because it came out of nowhere, however what happened next wasn’t shocking at all: quarterbacks stopped challenging him. Not only has he not had an interception in the six games that followed, but he’s only defended six passes during that same stretch. His presence in the game is shutting down nearly half of the field for opposing offenses. This allows the Carolina defense to focus in on other potential threats. All because Norman is doing a substantial job taking out the main receiver on their opponent’s roster.

This is why the matchup between Norman and Bryant is important to watch. If Norman is able to limit Bryant’s abilities in this game, that gives Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis an added advantage against Jason Witten, the Cowboys’ leader in receiving yards. If the Panthers have to allocate more resources to deal with Bryant, then the Pandora’s Box may just explode in their faces.

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Team sports are usually compared to a chess matchup. This vivid description is going to come to fruition once again as the battle between Josh Norman and Dez Bryant is a must-watch matchup this Thanksgiving Day.

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