Cowboys' 32nd-ranked defense looking for answers after giving up 30 points for fourth time

CHARLOTTE (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys came into Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers ranked last in the league in defense and in need of a big game.

They showed no signs of improvement.

The Cowboys allowed the Panthers to rack up 410 yards and 27 first downs in a 30-27 loss. They were unable to get off the field on Carolina's final drive, which took more than six minutes off the clock and set up Ryan Fitzgerald's 33-yard field goal as time expired.

“We’ve shown the ability to stop the run,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “But there’s a consistency that’s not showing up. We’ve got to be better. And that starts me and that starts with the coaching staff.”

Adding insult to injury, the loss came largely at the hands of one of team owner Jerry Jones' former employees — castoff Rico Dowdle.

Dowdle spent five seasons with the Cowboys and ran for more than 1,000 yards in 2024, but Jones decided against re-signing him.

Dowdle turned in a career performance, amassing 239 yards from scrimmage — including 183 yards on the ground on 30 carries — as the Panthers whipped the Cowboys at the line of scrimmage despite missing three starting offensive linemen due to injuries.

“This is a game where you’ve got to win the line of scrimmage," Schottenheimer said. “And we didn’t win the line of scrimmage today. It’s disappointing. We have to be better.”

Javonte Williams, Dowdle's replacement, was held to 29 yards on 13 carries.

Bryce Young threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns and picked apart Dallas' defense when he needed to, particular in the second half. The third-year quarterback was 3 of 4 for 25 yards on the final drive, including a 7-yard completion on fourth-and-4 to Hunter Renfrow to move the chains and reach the Dallas 33.

Had the Cowboys stopped the Panthers on that play, they would've taken over around their own 40 with 2 minutes to play.

The Cowboys, who traded elite pass rusher Micah Parsons just before the season after being unable to reach a contract extension, managed just one sack of Young.

And they've now surrendered at least 30 points in four of six games.

“It’s very frustrating,” defensive lineman Kenny Clark said. “You want to stop the run and get them in passing situations. When we did, we were able to get stops. But they were able to (make big plays) on first and second down most of the day.”

Clark said the problems are “a little bit of everything," ranging from miscommunication to missed tackles.

“We got to play more physical, set edges and be better at the line of scrimmage,” Clark said.

The Cowboys (2-3-1) were hoping to pick up some ground in the NFC East on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (4-2), who stumbled on Thursday night and lost to the hard-running Cam Skattebo and the last-place New York Giants.

The loss to the Panthers doesn't help.

“There’s nothing that’s gotten away from us,” Clark said. “We’re still in the thick of everything, so we just got to get back to work, keep holding each other accountable and just get the best out of all of our guys.”

Schottenheimer knows if the Cowboys can just get a little better on defense they have a chance, especially with star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb expected back soon from an ankle injury. When Lamb returns, the Cowboys figure to have a dominating one-two punch at wide receiver along with George Pickens, who caught nine passes for 186 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers.

Dak Prescott threw for 261 yards and three TDs despite missing Prescott and KaVontae Turpin.

“We have to play more complementary defense,” Schottenheimer said. “Early in the season, we were getting hurt throwing the football. This game, we were hurt running the football. Almost 75 to 80% of their runs, the guy was four or five yards before we had contact on them. That’s not good enough. And we know that. And we’re going to address that.”

For now, the Cowboys are saddled with losing a game they easily could have won after leading 24-20 late in the third quarter.

“That locker room’s hurting. I’m hurting,” Schottenheimer said. “Why? Because we let an opportunity slip to win. And it’s frustrating as hell. You don’t point fingers. You look at the film. It’s going to jump off the film what we need to do.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs the ball as Dallas Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson (6) makes the stop in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) is stopped as he runs the ball by Dallas Cowboys linebacker Shemar James (50) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs the ball as Dallas Cowboys linebacker Kenneth Murray (59) gives chase in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) runs the ball as Dallas Cowboys linebacker Kenneth Murray (59) defends in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)