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Stephen A. Smith reacts to Panthers trolling him after win vs. Cowboys

On3 imageby: Dan Morrison10/13/25dan_morrison96
Stephen A. Smith
© Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers pulled off an upset on Sunday, knocking off the Dallas Cowboys. It was a game that very few experts gave them a chance to win, let alone ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who very publicly picked the Cowboys to win.

Carolina’s social media team certainly took notice. They’d post a video that used points Smith made on First Take the week before, trolling him with clips from the game. Now, Smith has taken notice of that video and took a moment to respond to it on First Take the Monday following the game.

“First of all, let me tell these sorry ass Carolina Panthers something right now,” Stephen A. Smith said. “Hold on. Hold on. Wait for it! Wait for it! Wait for it! Wait for it! Wait for it! Wait for it! Let me tell them something right now, you understand what I’m saying? First of all, I’ll concede that that was a beautiful ass video they put together. That was a beautiful ass video they put together right there. That’s number one, okay? That’s number one.”

At this point, the panel around Smith was struggling to contain their collective laughter. That included former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. However, for Smith, this was when he turned the conversation into a troll of the Dallas Cowboys.

“Number two, I apologize with a smile on my face. Thank you. They’ve got Cam. They are absolutely right, they should have trolled me. My dumbass self. What was I thinking? Picking the Cowboys. How could I do such a thing?” Smith said. “Even to the Carolina Panthers, who have been a model of ineptitude the last few years, and it’s nice to see y’all are relevant again. You’ve got a .500 record for the first time since I had an afro. Congratulations. Congratulations, but let me tell you something right now, they deserve it. I like the job their coach is doing. I like how Bryce Young is looking. Okay? And Rico Dowdle. I didn’t know Emmitt Smith was gonna show up in a Carolina Panthers uniform. I was calling them sorry, but I’m only having fun with y’all. I’m only playing.”

One thing that does seem clear is that the Carolina Panthers have taken a step forward in recent weeks. After going 5-12 a year ago, the Panthers are already off to a 3-3 start. That includes wins in two-straight games. That’s been a nice bounce back after suffering a blowout loss at the hands of the New England Patriots in Week 4.

“Congrats to the Carolina Panthers. Congrats to their social media team. That’s exactly what you should have done. I deserved it,” Smith said. “You understand, they are accurate. 1,000 percent on point, getting on me. As a matter of fact, to my producers, get me a copy of that damn video. Imma play it everywhere today because they got me. I deserve it. How dare me? How dare me sit up there and pick the Cowboys? To sit up there and say, ‘That was Miami. I don’t have faith. Cowboys gonna drop 40.’ Leave it to the Cowboys to disappoint me. To make me out to be a liar, but I ain’t mad. I ain’t mad at all. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”

Carolina will look to keep the success moving forward next week against the New York Jets. Stephen A. Smith will, presumably, avoid picking against them again. Dallas, meanwhile, is heading home to play the Washington Commanders. Smith very well might be picking against them in that spot.