CHARLOTTE — Dave Canales stresses details. It is the details that make a successful team, preaches the coach, details that allow a team to move on from a bad play and execute a good win, details that ultimately win a game.

On Sunday, in a 30-27 Panthers' win against the Cowboys, the details played a large part. On one play, the lack of detail was almost detrimental. After a win, the situation can draw a laugh, seeing as how it didn't lose Carolina a game. But it was still a teaching moment for the young coach.

Near the end of the first half, the Panthers were driving, trying to score points in a one-possession game, and maybe even double-dip since they would get the ball to start the second half as well.

Doing so was also critical, considering the Cowboys came into the week as the best in the league at scoring in the final two minutes of the half and at the end of the game.

"We tried to mess that up," admitted Canales.

The Panthers got the ball back, down 17-10, with 3:39 to go in the half. They were able to put together a nine-play drive that resulted in a field goal. But on a second-and-9 at the Dallas 36-yard line, Bryce Young swung a pass left to Xavier Legette. As he was being taken down, the second-year receiver threw a lateral to Rico Dowdle. The running back took off running and was quickly swarmed by all the defenders who had come to the ball. The football was punched out, rolled around for a few seconds, and was jumped on by Legette in the melee.

All in all, the play resulted in a 9-yard loss, followed by a coaching standoff to determine whether there would be a 10-second run-off. When the Panthers jogged into the locker room a few minutes later, coaches were talking to Legette about electing to lateral in that situation when Dowdle stepped in and took blame for what happened.

"Talked to Xavier about the lateral right there in that situation. It's just something that's outside of what we need to do," shared Canales. "Rico kind of came up to me and was like, 'Coach, that was on me.'"

And Canales' response?

"I was just like, 'Guys, don't make stuff up,'" he shared to big laughs. "Let's just play our football. Let's just advance the ball, get us into a better field goal situation, so we can take advantage of the plays that led into it.

"It was a good way for me to just remind the group, just do your job, it'll be enough."

In the final two minutes of the second half, the Panthers had a chance once again to keep the ball out of the Cowboys' hands and get points for the win. After the Panthers' defense forced Dallas to punt, Carolina got the ball at their own 14-yard line with 6:07 to play.

As the drive wore on and the clock ticked down, there was an inherent danger in scoring too early, thus giving the ball back to the NFL's No. 1 offense. Carolina flipped field position thanks to Legette drawing a defensive pass interference flag and some big throws to Tommy Tremble and Hunter Renfrow, the latter on fourth down.

With less than two minutes left and Dowdle on the sideline working through cramps, rookie Trevor Etienne went into the game. The Cowboys called a timeout, and Young took the chance to make sure this time, the details were right.

"Bryce was all over it," bragged Canales of his quarterback. "He came over. He was like, 'OK, I'm telling these guys first down, get down.'

"This is something we practice. (Game management coordinator) George Li presents us with different scenarios in our walkthroughs, where we get to hit our two-minute situations and a half in the game, and also four-minute situations just like that. We practiced that two weeks ago, getting into a four-minute situation where this is a first down, get-down type of deal."

Added Young, "We want to leave no doubt, we want to make sure that we were in, we were, 'First down, get down, make sure that we don't want to give them time back.'"

That meant reminding his rookie running back in particular, not to be tempted if the Cowboys play a soft defense, willing to take the yards and even the possible score in order to get the ball back to their offense, don't be tempted. Make the smart football play and get down.

The Cowboys did play a softer defense, but Young's warning/reminder was in Etienne's head. After he picked up 1 yard on a second-and-1, he went down. The next play, when he burst through the hole to pick up 11 yards and get to the Cowboys' 12-yard line, he went down again. From there, Young was able to spot the ball for Ryan Fitzgerald, who knocked through the walk-off 33-yard field goal.

"From Trevor, a young guy could easily go rogue and say this is my shot, but a team-first guy, so it was big," Young said.

But, Etienne joked, it might be the last time.

"Trevor came off the field," shared Canales, "and said, 'The next time that happens, you guys are going to have to run off the field and tackle me because I really would like to score my first touchdown.'"

The first touchdown will likely come, maybe even soon, with the way the Panthers' running game has been clicking. But Sunday was about the details, and that particular detail helped put together a win.

"It was well executed, it was well blocked," said Canales. "He got down, gave us a chance to run the clock out, and then win the game walking off."