You only get one chance to make a good first impression, and the Dallas Cowboys certainly didn't do that in their first regular season action of the 2018 season. The eternal optimism that permeated the Cowboys faithful prior to kickoff was quickly replaced by the venomous pessimism of a loss after the Panthers' 16-8 victory.
While the Cowboys defense was able to put up a valiant effort, the offense failed to get much going throughout the game. Ezekiel Elliott was largely ineffective, Dak Prescott struggled with his accuracy down the field and the offensive line was overmatched by the Carolina front seven all game long.