CHARLOTTE — The Panthers' defense has talked for weeks about their mantra to "attack the ball." It leads to turnovers, pass break-ups, and a long day for opponents. This week, against the Dallas Cowboys, it is the offense's mantra as well.

"At the point of attack, we've got to go attack the ball," preached offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.

The Panthers have spread the ball around so far this season, with Bryce Young (and Andy Dalton in limited appearances) connecting with 13 different receivers. He's gone 106-174 for 951 yards as he and a relatively young corps find their chemistry. There have been seven passing touchdowns and four interceptions.

Now, the Cowboys are coming to town, with Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland roaming the field.

"They have playmakers out there," noted Dave Canales this week. "They have two corners who will certainly catch it if you throw it to them. They're dynamic players."

It's a chance for Tetairoa McMillan, who leads the Panthers with 24 receptions for 351 yards (averaging 70.2 per game), to face yet another Pro Bowler early in his career.

"(Diggs) reminds me a lot of Travis Hunter as far as like the ball skills," explained McMillan this week, comparing Diggs to the Jaguars corner McMillan faced in Week 1 and all throughout college. "So obviously just facing someone that has good ball skills, a previous receiver, so, just being able to have that kind of competition and, you know, he was All-Pro, Pro Bowler, so it's always good to go against guys like that for sure."

Neither corner, Diggs nor Bland, has a pass defense or turnover yet this season—the Cowboys only have one interception, from safety Donovan Wilson—and Bland hasn't nabbed an interception since 2023. That season, though, he led the entire league with nine picks, including one that Panthers fans might remember, when he intercepted a rookie Bryce Young He has been a limited participant in practice this week with a shoulder injury, so his status is unknown at this time.

The Panthers know what both guys are capable of, though (Diggs also led the league in interceptions before, with 11 picks in 2021), and nothing is being taken for granted.

"Watching Diggs, I feel like he thinks like a receiver," explained rookie receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. "So everybody wins some, everybody loses some, you know what I'm saying? I got confidence in the guys that's in our room to go out there and win."

Echoed Idzik, "I think Jimmy said it, and he said it right. He thinks like a receiver, so I think he went to Alabama as a receiver to start. Both him and Bland…have some of the best ball skills in the league at the defensive back position. In 50/50 situations, you know, they go attack the ball like a receiver would, so they do a phenomenal job that way.

"They also do a great job of route recognition. So there are some things that you need to throw at them to make them, you know, think they know what they're seeing concept-wise, and then try to work a compliment off of it. So that's something we're trying to do every week, but especially, you know, a heightened week when you have two guys that really study the game.

"They study the game when they're jumping certain concepts, certain routes. They know when to pull their trigger."

The key to counteracting that?

One, get the ball out quickly, something Young has done better this season than in his first two years. According to Next Gen Stats, Young has recorded an average time to throw of 2.74 seconds this season, the quickest mark of his career.

He has recorded career highs in completion percentage (72.7 percent) and success rate (49.4 percent) on quick passes (under 2.5 seconds). Young has also thrown four touchdowns without an interception on quick passes after totaling eight touchdowns and four interceptions all last season.

The Cowboys defense, parenthetically, has allowed a league-high 88.5 completion percentage on quick passes, the highest rate by any defense in a season since at least 2016.

The second way to counteract the Cowboys' sticky coverage?

Just like Brad Idzik said: attack the ball.

It's the approach McMillan knows he's taking into the game.

"It's either I get it or no one gets it," McMillan said. "That's my mentality. So, I mean, if he beats me to the ball, then yeah, I got to play a little defense, but you know, I don't envision myself getting beat to the ball."

And it's the approach Idzik is instilling in every one of his receivers.

"Our receivers in any of those situations, that's a tight window, you've got to finish the play," Idzik said. "Take that extra step coming back to the ball because these guys, they'll catch it. They're not just going to knock it down. They'll catch it and do something with it."