CHARLOTTE — Being a .500 football team is not a goal.

But for the Carolina Panthers, getting to .500 the way they did still represents a significant step in the development of a still-young team, and a step in the direction Dave Canales is trying to take this bunch.

With a 30-27 win over the Cowboys Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers got to 3-3 on the season. The fact that they did it with a game-winning drive by Bryce Young and a walk-off field goal by rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald (one of 12 rookies on the roster) just underscored what Canales is seeing as the makings of a personality.

"So proud of this group, that just continues to fight and scratch and claw and just get it done," he began, as he bounced into the team meeting room for his post-game press conference.

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