Dallas @ Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 26, 2015 ) Carolina 33, Dallas 14

The Dallas Cowboys are without some of the bigger names from recent seasons going into 2018, but that isn't dampening the team's enthusiasm. The Cowboys will try to show off what Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and company can accomplish when they open the season by visiting the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Dallas watched tight end Jason Witten move to the broadcast booth and cut receiver Dez Bryant in the offseason, leaving Prescott without a pair of veteran weapons and signaling the embrace of a youth movement. "You don’t just want to be a young team. You want to be a young, good team," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett told reporters. "And we have some guys who are young and haven’t been tested quite as much, but we feel like they have the stuff. We’re excited about seeing them play and seeing this group come together." The Panthers have a more veteran roster and are ready to win now after a trip to the Super Bowl in 2015 and anther playoff berth last season. "I’m excited. I think everybody is excited about this opportunity," quarterback Cam Newton told reporters. "There’s a lot of energy, great energy, around the city that I’ve been feeling."

TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Panthers -3. O/U: 42.5.

ABOUT THE COWBOYS (2017: 9-7, SECOND IN NFC EAST): Dallas went 13-3 in 2016 behind rookies Elliott and Prescott, but a six-game suspension that Elliott spent the better part of 2017 fighting overshadowed last season. "I’m definitely going into this year with a chip on my shoulder," Elliott told reporters. "I think I have a lot to prove. I would say with my preparation this offseason, I was more focused and just ready to go out there and prove what I can do on the field." Elliott, who led the league in rushing with 1,631 yards as a rookie, managed 983 yards despite sitting out six games in 2017.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (2017: 11-5, SECOND IN NFC SOUTH): Carolina went to work improving the skill position players around Newton and brought in wide receivers Torrey Smith and Jarius Wright to compliment veteran tight end Greg Olsen. The Panthers also made a change at offensive coordinator with the departure of Mike Shula and hired veteran Norv Turner to guide Newton and company. "Nothing has changed as far as winning football games," Newton told reporters. "That’s the most important stat in all of sports – winning. Anything I can do to help this team win, that’s what I’m all about."

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Cowboys cut veteran PK Dan Bailey and will instead go with Brett Maher.

2. Panthers WR Curtis Samuel (heart issues) will sit out Week 1.

3. Carolina took the most recent meeting, 33-14 at Dallas in 2015, to end a five-game losing streak in the series.

PREDICTION: Panthers 31, Cowboys 24