Carolina Panthers

Ron Rivera calls Panthers being underdogs to Cowboys 'disrespectful'

Published Nov. 23, 2015 6:31 p.m. ET

foxsports

In a bit of a shocker heading into Week 12, the Carolina Panthers have actually been listed as underdogs against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, according to Marc Sessler of NFL.com.

While it's slightly surprising to see a 10-0 team listed as an underdog, Jason Logan of Covers.com reported that this is actually the second time in history that it's happened.

Panthers +1 join 1985 Bears +2 as only 10-0 NFL teams to open underdog for 11th game, according to @BookMakerdotEU. Both games at Dallas.
— Jason Logan (@CoversJLo) November 23, 2015

So with the Cowboys listed as early favorites, how did the team take it? For starters, head coach Ron Rivera found it a bit disrespectful, per Sessler.

"It's nothing that we haven't seen before. You know we've had a better record in some of our other games where we were underdogs," Rivera told NFL.com Monday. "So we are going to take it in stride. As I said, we are going to play them one at a time and as far as we are concerned everybody is 0-0 and we'll see how it comes out.

"It is a little disrespectful, I guess. But apparently they know something we don't. We are just going to prepare and get ourselves ready for Thursday. We'll show up."

When the rest of the players found out, one specifically who chimed in was star cornerback Josh Norman, according to Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer, and he didn't sound very happy.

Josh Norman says of those who have set Cowboys as 1-point favorite: "We're gonna make you eat your crow." #Panthers
— scott_fowler (@scott_fowler) November 23, 2015