CHARLOTTE – Adam Thielen sprinted across the field Friday afternoon, leaving practice and showing off his speed just because he could. After someone standing close by watching commented on Thielen's speed still being impressive, the veteran and Panthers second leading receiver called out all the narratives about him as he left the field.

"He's old, he's slow, he's washed up," Thielen laughed, mocking what he hears outside voices saying about him at 34 years old. Since returning from injured reserve during the bye week, Thielen has 20 receptions for 258 yards and a touchdown. Third-and-Thielen is also averaging three first downs a game this season as well.

But despite whatever narrative Thielen wants to dispel, his impact is frankly a given each week. There are some new faces to get to know ahead of the Panthers (3-10) Sunday game against the Cowboys (5-8) though, so with that in mind, here are five things to watch.

Injuries determining game status for starters

The Panthers defense will be without starting linebacker Trevin Wallace on Sunday. The rookie suffered a shoulder injury last week against Philadelphia but finished the game. The injury kept him out of practice all week though and will officially sideline him against the Cowboys.

"We just didn't feel like he was in a good spot to make it for this week," Canales said Friday of Wallace.

In his place, the Panthers will start Claudin Cherelus, and then lean on Jacoby Windmon and Jon Rhattigan.

Cherelus has played in 12 games this season, picking up 19 tackles.

Corner Jaycee Horn is officially listed as questionable with a groin injury and will be a weekend decision.

"We're going to take a look at him again tomorrow, just making sure that he's ready, you know, physically, mentally to get back out there," Canales said Friday of Horn's status. "So, it's kind of been a daily progression through this week. We're hoping to get him out there, but we got to make sure he's in the right space."

Horn was forced to come out of the game last Sunday against Philly, the first time this season Horn has missed snaps due to injury. After three seasons cut short by injuries, the former first-round pick made it a goal to not miss time this year. Now it's about balancing that goal with what's smart.

"A big goal of mine was to play every game, and I was even upset I had to come out of the last game just because my goal coming into the season was to play every game and finish every game," Horn shared this week.

"But at the same time, I got to play a smart position. Can't make it a pride thing because I have been on the couch on Sundays and off the field to have season ending surgery and all that type of stuff. So, I'm trying to dodge that as well. So just trying to fill it out and make sure I'm good enough to get out there and compete."

Here comes the Boone

This season, the Panthers' run game has been centered around Chuba Hubbard. According to Next Gen Stats, Hubbard has recorded a 76.0% playtime percentage this season, the second-highest rate among running backs, trailing only Kyren Williams (86.2%). He recorded a 97.1% playtime percentage in Week 14 against the Eagles, the 2nd-highest single-game playtime percentage by a running back this season.

That won't change on Sunday, but the depth behind him will look a little different. With Jonathon Brooks and Miles Sanders now both on injured reserve, and Raheem Blackshear spending the week in a red no-contact jersey, Carolina is relying on veteran Mike Boone this weekend.

Boone has been in the league since 2018, with some of his best ball coming in 2019 with the Vikings. He has appeared in two games this season, in Week 1 and Week 3. Against the Cowboys, Boone will likely spell Hubbard, the latter of whom has seen his teammate prepare for this moment.

"Mike's a great guy to stay prepared," Hubbard said this week. "Always on top of his stuff, works extremely hard. One thing about our running back room is every single guy is on their stuff and wants to be great in their own way.

"We all know the roles that we fit on this team and one thing that we hold ourselves to a high standard is just always being ready no matter what the situation is going to be. So, Mike's been ready for this moment, he'll do great and I'm looking forward to it for him."

The Panthers are still waiting to make a decision on Blackshear, who is listed as questionable. Canales did say on Friday however that he feels "confident" the back and return man can play.

"But again, we got to make sure we're checking with him and making sure that he feels confident that he can get his job done," Canales said. "We'd love to have him up. That's the intent right now. But again, we have to be smart about it and, and make sure that he's ready."

Special teams, special players

It's not hyperbole to say the strongest part of the Cowboys team might be the special teams. Headlined by KaVontae Turpin, the unit leads the league in average return per kickoff (33.9 yards per return) and touchdowns scored on returns with two.

Turpin himself is averaging a league best 36.3 per return and has arguably become the most dangerous returner for opponents.

"He's an issue whenever he has the ball," special teams coordinator Tracy Smith said this week of Turpin. "Outstanding speed, quickness, vision, imagination. Takes some chances that other guys don't take. So, they have to be prepared for that. Can really get the ball to the edges of the field and also, tough enough to go straight ahead.

"So, I have to be prepared for what he brings to the game. Outstanding in different ways as a kick returner and a punt returner, you don't always see that in a guy…he's going to end up back there with the ball looking at the whole field. So, we have to be ready to get him down."

Facing the best

The Cowboys may be in the bottom tier of every major defensive category this season, but the group still features two of the most dynamic defensive playmakers in the league: Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs.

Xavier Legette faced Trevon Diggs in college. When he watched the corner on tape this week, he saw a lot of the same skills that baptized him as a freshman receiver at South Carolina.

"I think he's still the same player. Very athletic and I think he relies on it," Legette said. So how do you combat that? "Just play the way I play."

Diggs has two interceptions and leads the Cowboys with 11 passes defended.

*Editors Note: As of Saturday afternoon at 2pm, Diggs (knee) was ruled OUT for Sunday's game against the Panthers.

He's not who has to have an eye on him at all times though. That would be Parsons.

"Micah is getting back to his form that he was before he missed some time," Canales noted this week.

Despite missing four games in the middle of the season with a high ankle sprain, Parsons still leads the Cowboys with 6.5 sacks. The linebacker can plug into any spot in the front seven. He'll line up in a two-point or three-point stance, depending on matchups, and can even drop back into coverage when needed. Under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, Parsons has autonomy to line up wherever he sees a favorable matchup pre-snap.

"You just kind of have to look at it as the same kind of fronts," Canales explained as for the game planning. "He puts himself in different spots. We just got to be aware of where he's at. But you can't just tilt your entire game plan, you just have to be aware and try to play the odds and try to play the percentages of where you think he's going to be at to try to help ourselves execute."

Rushing Rush

The Panthers pass rush has increased exponentially in the last month and change. After registering a mere 10.0 sacks in the first nine games, the unit has produced 15.0 in the last four games and 13.0 in the last three.

"Talking about Ejiero, just the different packages, the different things, trying to attack offenses the right way, get the right combination of players out there in different situations, requires a lot of work, a lot of focus by the whole group, the staff, the players, everyone included," Canales bragged of his DC this week. "So, I've been really pleased with just, you know, the production that's come out of that in the last couple of weeks."

The defense has added Amaré Barno back from injured reserve, allowing the defense to present a five-man front at times, alongside Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum. The addition has allowed Evero to play around with more calls, Wonnum explained.

"Oh my God, it allows coach to do whatever he wants to do," said Wonnum. "So, he got guys that can do everything. Barno can play inside and outside. I played inside a little bit, so it just allowed him to use his play calls and allow us to go out there and just do what we do."

That aggressiveness could come into play again this weekend. The Cowboys offensive line has given up 33.0 sacks this season, and Cooper Rush has taken 10.0 sacks since becoming the starter for the Cowboys, after Dak Prescott was put on injured reserve.

Additional Stats

A few assembled Next Gen Stats on the matchup:

• Bryce Young has averaged 7.9 yards per attempt and recorded a +4.1% completion percentage over expected when under pressure since reclaiming the starting job in Week 8, a huge jump from his 3.1 yards per attempt and a -12.2% CPOE when under pressure in Weeks 1-2.
  • The Cowboys defense has given up 7.6 yards per attempt to opposing quarterbacks when under pressure this season, third-most in the NFL.
• Young has averaged the third-most yards per attempt (7.9) and has converted a first down on 35.1% of his pressured dropbacks since reclaiming the starting quarterback job in Week 8, the second-highest rate in the NFL during that span.
  • He has also recorded the third-highest scramble rush rate (13.0%) under pressure since Week 8, gaining 63 yards on the ground, the fifth-most in the NFL.
• Since returning from injured reserve in Week 12, Thielen has been targeted on 27.2% of his routes with a 12.0% deep route rate.
  • In contrast, he was targeted on just 17.4% of his routes with a 21.7% deep route rate in Weeks 1-3 before his injury. Thielen has also recorded +50 receiving yards over expected since Week 12, compared to +3 receiving yards over expected prior to his injury.
• Thielen has caught 15 of 19 slot targets for 187 yards and a touchdown since returning from injury in Week 12, the second-most slot receiving yards in the NFL during that span, trailing only Jaxon Smith-Njigba (223).
  • Thielen generated +2.9 receptions over expected in Week 14 against the Eagles, the most in a game by a Panthers receiver since at least 2018.
• The Panthers defense has played Cover 3 on 44.8% of snaps, the third-highest rate in the NFL. Cooper Rush has completed just 25 of 49 passes for 172 yards and an interception against Cover 3 this season, resulting in a league-low 3.5 yards per attempt.
• Horn has forced a tight window at the third-highest rate (54.5%) and has allowed the fewest yards per target (2.3) when playing man coverage among cornerbacks with at least 20 such targets faced this season.
• Clowney has generated a team-high 28 pressures and an 11.8% pressure rate this season, the highest among any Panthers defender with at least 150 pass rushes.
  • The Panthers defense has generated pressure nearly 5% more often with him on the field (30.2%) compared to when he's been off the field (25.6%) this season. They have also recorded all 7 of their interceptions on the season with him on the field.
• Young has been sacked just 8.0 times on 77 pressured dropbacks since Week 8, resulting in a 10.4% pressure-to-sack rate, the fifth-lowest in the NFL during that span.
  • The Cowboys defense has recorded the fifth-highest pressure rate (39.2%) and the 10th-highest pressure-to-sack conversion rate (23.1%) since Micah Parsons returned to the lineup in Week 10.