Carolina Ends Dallas’ Title Run, Jeopardizes Playoff Hopes Cowboys Still In Running For Wild Card, But Need Help After Losing To Panthers

The Carolina Panthers unceremoniously ended the Dallas Cowboys’ five-year reign as NFC East champion and may also have ended the NFL’s most successful run of the decade.

Kerry Collins threw two touchdown passes and Fred Lane rushed for 138 yards Monday night as the Panthers stayed alive in the NFC wild-card race and all but eliminated the Cowboys with a 23-13 victory.

“I hope this isn’t the end of an era,” said Troy Aikman, the Cowboys’ quarterback and team leader. “I don’t think we are willing to concede that. We just couldn’t get things going.”

“We were inept,” said coach Barry Switzer. “It was frustrating and disappointing.”

It was also most likely the end of Dallas’ playoff hopes, although with a 6-8 record, the team that has won three Super Bowls this decade remains technically alive for a wildcard berth.

But their run of five NFC East titles is over - the New York Giants lead the division and even if they lose twice, the Cowboys can’t catch them.

Carolina (7-7), which won the NFC West and reached the NFC title game last season in only its second season is also alive, but needs help.

“We’re still in it, we’re still in it,” said Lane, a rookie free agent. “This was big for us to beat the Cowboys on Monday night football. We were confident we could run the ball and we did.”

The Panthers have ended the Cowboys’ hopes twice in the past year.

Carolina knocked Dallas out of last season’s playoffs with a 26-17 victory on Jan. 5 in Charlotte. Now they just want to keep alive this year.

“We have a legitimate shot at the playoffs now,” said guard Greg Skrepenak. “We just played our best game of the year.”

Coach Dom Capers agreed.

“We really bounced back and played a tremendous game,” he said. “We’ve still got a playoff chance.”

Collins, who suffered a concussion last week, hit key passes while Lane kept Dallas off balance with his hard runs despite the presence of tackle Leon Lett, who made some spectacular plays in his first game back after a one-year suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Collins, who threw a 15-yard TD pass to Rae Carruth in the second quarter, guided Carolina on a 69-yard drive to open the second half. That put the Panthers ahead 17-6.

He completed passes of 13 yards to Anthony Johnson, 18 yards to Muhsin Muhammad, and finally found Scott Greene on a 1-yard touchdown pass.

John Kasay then hit a 40-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, making it 20-6. He also had an 18-yarder with 53 seconds left to finish off the Cowboys.

Aikman hit Michael Irvin with a 52-yard touchdown to put Dallas within seven points with 6:33 left.

However, with a four-and-1 on the Carolina 45, Aikman was trapped for a 25-yard loss by safety Chad Cota with 3:27 left.

“I was just trying to make something happen,” Aikman said. “It was a busted play.”

“If you can’t make a fourth-and-1 then you don’t deserve to win,” said Switzer. “We just have to try to win the last two games. They are pros and they get paid.”

The Panthers dominated the first half to take a 10-6 lead. Before intermission, the Cowboys lost running back Emmitt Smith after he reinjured his left shoulder trying to make a block and tight end Eric Bjornson fractured his left shin.

Collins, who fractured his jaw in the preseason before last week’s problem, hit Carruth for the TD after Kasay had kicked a 34-yard field goal.

The only Dallas points in the first half came on field goals of 45 and 32 yards by Richie Cunningham. He has 33 this season to break the club record of 32 by Chris Boniol in 1996.

It was the first time Switzer had ever been part of a three-game losing streak in college or the pros, a span of 259 games. Dallas hadn’t lost three games in a row since 1990.

Carolina lost cornerback Eric Davis late in the fourth quarter when his helmet hit the knee of running back Sherman Williams. Davis left the field on a stretcher, and his injuries were not immediately determined.

But the injuries to the Cowboys’ egos were clear.

“This is devastating,” said special teams star Bill Bates. “It’s been a long time since we had this feeling”