On Thanksgiving, November 26, 2015, the Carolina Panthers beat the Dallas Cowboys 33-14 at AT&T Stadium to improve to 11-0. Two of Tony Romo’s three first-half interceptions were returned for touchdowns, by Kurt Coleman on the third snap of the game and by Luke Kuechly late in the second quarter, and Romo left for good after breaking his left collarbone again on the last play of the third quarter.
It was the first Thanksgiving game in Panthers history. Carolina arrived 10-0. Dallas was 3-7 and had lost all seven games Romo missed after breaking the same collarbone at Philadelphia on September 20. He had returned four days earlier and won 24-14 at Miami.
Coleman scores on the third snap
Darren McFadden ran for 4 yards on the first play, and Romo’s deep throw for Dez Bryant fell incomplete with Josh Norman in coverage. On third-and-6 Romo threw over the middle for Jason Witten, and Coleman stepped in front of it at the Dallas 36. He cut back across the field and scored. With 14:01 still on the clock, Carolina led 7-0.
“We set the tempo from the get-go,” Coleman said after the game. It was his fifth interception of the season, the most on the team, and the first touchdown of his career.
Graham Gano made a 49-yard field goal for 10-0. Dallas answered with a 12-play drive to the Carolina 3, but Romo’s third-down pass to Cole Beasley stopped short and Dan Bailey kicked a 21-yard field goal.
Kuechly, twice in two snaps
Gano added a 43-yarder for 13-3 with 3:32 left in the half. On the second play of the next Dallas drive, Romo threw short right for Terrance Williams, and Kuechly stepped in front of it, caught it at the Dallas 32 and ran untouched down the left sideline for a touchdown. It was the first touchdown of his NFL career, and Carolina led 20-3.
“Oh man, I haven’t done that in a while,” Kuechly said afterward.
On the very next snap, Romo threw deep down the middle for Witten, and Kuechly turned and ran with him and caught that one too, returning it 17 yards to the Dallas 29. He was the first NFL player since 1997 to intercept passes on consecutive plays. Carolina got to the 2 on a 12-yard catch by Jerricho Cotchery, threw three incomplete passes and then took a false-start penalty before Gano kicked a 25-yard field goal with three seconds left. It was 23-3 at halftime.
The collarbone, again
Bailey made a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter for 23-6. Carolina then put together its only touchdown drive of the day, 80 yards in 7:29. Gano made a 48-yard kick on fourth-and-3, but Byron Jones was flagged for leaping, and the penalty gave the Panthers a first down at the 15. Cotchery caught an 11-yard pass on third-and-10 to the 4, and Cam Newton ran it in from there with 25 seconds left in the quarter. Carolina led 30-6.
Two plays later, on the final snap of the third quarter, Thomas Davis sacked Romo for a 10-yard loss. Romo walked off holding his left arm at his side. Early in the fourth quarter the Cowboys announced a left clavicle injury and said he would not return. He did not play again that season.
“All week long we heard about how good their offensive line was and how Tony was going to come in and carve us up,” Davis said after the game. “We felt disrespected, and we went out and played like we were capable of playing today. We set the tone early.”
The last 15 minutes
Gano kicked a 50-yard field goal for 33-6, his fourth of the day. Matt Cassel replaced Romo and led Dallas on a 16-play drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Beasley and a two-point pass to McFadden. Davis recovered the onside kick. The Cowboys got one more chance when Tyrone Crawford blocked a 43-yard Gano attempt and Sean Lee returned it 35 yards, but that drive ended on downs near midfield, and Newton knelt to finish it.
| Quarter | Time | Team | Scoring play | Score (CAR-DAL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 14:01 | CAR | Kurt Coleman 36-yard interception return (Graham Gano kick) | 7-0 |
| 1st | 8:14 | CAR | Gano 49-yard field goal | 10-0 |
| 1st | 1:25 | DAL | Dan Bailey 21-yard field goal | 10-3 |
| 2nd | 3:32 | CAR | Gano 43-yard field goal | 13-3 |
| 2nd | 2:36 | CAR | Luke Kuechly 32-yard interception return (Gano kick) | 20-3 |
| 2nd | 0:03 | CAR | Gano 25-yard field goal | 23-3 |
| 3rd | 7:53 | DAL | Bailey 48-yard field goal | 23-6 |
| 3rd | 0:18 | CAR | Cam Newton 4-yard run (Gano kick) | 30-6 |
| 4th | 10:27 | CAR | Gano 50-yard field goal | 33-6 |
| 4th | 4:23 | DAL | Cole Beasley 2-yard pass from Matt Cassel (McFadden pass from Cassel) | 33-14 |
The numbers
Romo completed 11 of 21 passes for 106 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Cassel went 13 of 19 for 93 yards and the late touchdown. Newton completed 16 of 27 for 183 yards without a touchdown pass or an interception and ran 11 times for 46 yards and the score. Jonathan Stewart carried 21 times for 68 yards, and Cotchery and Greg Olsen each caught five passes, for 73 and 70 yards.
| Carolina | Dallas | |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | Cam Newton, 16 of 27, 183 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT | Tony Romo, 11 of 21, 106 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT; Matt Cassel, 13 of 19, 93 yards, 1 TD |
| Rushing leaders | Jonathan Stewart, 21 carries, 68 yards; Cam Newton, 11 carries, 46 yards, 1 TD | Darren McFadden, 10 carries, 11 yards |
| Receiving leaders | Jerricho Cotchery, 5 catches, 73 yards; Greg Olsen, 5 catches, 70 yards | Cole Beasley, 6 catches, 44 yards, 1 TD; Darren McFadden, 4 catches, 45 yards |
| Interceptions | 3 (Luke Kuechly 2, Kurt Coleman) | 0 |
| Sacks | 2 (Thomas Davis, Kony Ealy) | 1 (Tyrone Crawford) |
What came next
Carolina won its next three games to reach 14-0, lost 20-13 at Atlanta in Week 16 and finished 15-1. Newton was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. The Panthers beat Seattle 31-24 and Arizona 49-15 in the playoffs and lost Super Bowl 50 to Denver, 24-10.
Dallas won its next game, 19-16 at Washington, but finished 4-12, last in the NFC East. Two years earlier, Kuechly was at the center of the picked-up flag that beat New England. Dallas has lost other Thanksgiving games at home, including 38-31 to Washington in 2012 and 41-16 to Washington in 2020.
The 2026 connection
The Cowboys (4-5) host the 49ers on Sunday and play the Eagles at AT&T Stadium on Thanksgiving, November 26, with Miranda Lambert at halftime. The Panthers are 3-5 but lead the NFC South entering their game at New Orleans on Sunday, as the latest playoff picture shows.
The scoring plays, drive notes and player numbers above come from the official play-by-play and game data. The quotes are from the players’ postgame comments.
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