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CAROLINA PANTHERS
Josh Norman

Panthers' defense on mission to rail against disrespect

Eric Prisbell
USA TODAY Sports
Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman (24) talks with Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) after an interception during the first quarter of a NFL game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Thomas Davis felt tremendously disrespected that his undefeated Carolina Panthers entered the week as underdogs to the three-win Dallas Cowboys.

And Josh Norman felt equally disrespected by Dez Bryant, saying that Bryant began exchanging words with Carolina’s other defensive backs during pregame warmups at AT&T Stadium Thursday.

So the Panthers (11-0) used the national Thanksgiving Day stage to showcase an edgy defense so stifling that’s it’s made them the NFC favorite to reach the Super Bowl. With a tenacious linebacker duo of Luke Kuechly, who had two interceptions, and Davis, and a shutdown corner like Norman, Carolina can seize control of games with an outspoken and overwhelming defense. And the unit did just that in a 33-14 win over the Cowboys.

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If forcing Tony Romo into three first-half interceptions – including two returned for touchdowns – wasn’t enough, the Panthers knocked the veteran out of the game late in the third quarter with another injury to his left clavicle, which he originally broke in Week 2. Initial X-rays were inconclusive.

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“You cut off a head of a snake to see what kind of body it has,” Norman said. “Obviously the body didn’t look too well.”

In just his second game since returning from the broken collarbone, Romo had no answers for a ball-hawking defense that made his most potent offensive weapon, Bryant, a virtual non-factor. Bryant caught two passes for 26 yards, as Norman shadowed him as much as possible.

“If you don’t like us, so what?” Norman said. “We are going to play you, we’ll see what that looks like. We bring physicality. If you don’t like it, if you don’t understand it, don’t step on the field.”

They have plenty of edge and swagger, and can back it up. Just how dominating was the Panthers’ defense in the first half? The Cowboys had 98 total yards in the half. The Panthers had 85 interception return yards in the half. Kuechly intercepted two passes on back-to-back snaps, returning the first one 32 yards for a touchdown.

“Luke is a little firecracker,” Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said. “He has a dark side. I don’t want to give away who he is but a person that plays like [that] is not just a nice guy. He has the smile, the charisma, the lawyer look, but he has like a demolition mentality.”

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Safety Kurt Coleman established the game's tenor with a 36-yard interception return for a score in the opening minute. As tight end Greg Olsen said, “Any time you have two pick-sixes, that makes life for an offensive guy easy.”

The outspoken Norman said that fellow defensive backs told him before the game that Bryant exchanged words with them during warmups. Norman said he then “went to a dark place” in his mind to get extra motivated. He didn’t want Bryant to catch a single pass.

After breaking up a pass to Bryant on the game’s second snap, he and Bryant started hollering at each other. Bryant didn’t catch his first pass until the third quarter.

“If my intensity is all out for four quarters and the other opponent is not, that’s not my fault,” Norman said. “That’s how I play this game. This game is violent and ruthless. I was on him like white on rice. I’m going to be at your throat for four quarters.”

The Panthers lead the league in takeaways. They rank fourth in total defense and first in interceptions. They rank high in confidence. And any signs of disrespect – real or imagined – will only continue to fuel the NFC’s best defense as they surge toward the playoffs.

“Las Vegas was wrong,” Norman said, referencing that the Cowboys had been installed as 1-point favorites at the start of the week. “I’m going to start putting faces and names on people who [don’t] pick us, because obviously they are tremendously wrong.”

Follow Eric Prisbell on Twitter @EricPrisbell.

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