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Cowboys Win Showdown Over Panthers 24-20

Posted on: Sunday, 23 November 2003, 06:00 CST

Quincy Carter threw two touchdown passes to revive the Dallas Cowboys' sputtering offense, then made his best plays by keeping alive the final drive of a 24-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The Panthers were within 6 yards of tying the game with about five minutes left, then ended up settling for a 34-yard field goal in hopes of getting the ball back and working their late magic. Carolina has won six times in the final two minutes or overtime.

Carter, though, never gave them the chance. Dallas took over with 3:47 left and kept the ball until time ran out.

Carter converted two third downs, the first with the aid of a facemask penalty on Brentson Buckner. The next was a 13-yard pass to Jason Witten with 1:39 left that forced Carolina to use its final timeout.

Dallas (8-3) remained tied with Philadelphia atop the NFC East, and there's a three-way tie with the Panthers for the conference's best record. The Eagles play at Carolina next Sunday, then the Cowboys are in Philadelphia the week after that.

With yet another win more impressive for what it means than the way it was accomplished, Dallas continued its surprising revival under first-year coach Bill Parcells. The Cowboys won their fifth straight at home and still haven't lost consecutive games.

The Panthers, who never led, lost their second straight on the road, both by four points in Texas. They fell 14-10 to the Texans three games earlier.

The two most run-oriented teams in the NFL were forced by solid defenses to rely more on their passing games in the second half.

Carter ended up with the most attempts (44) and completions (29) of his career, for 254 yards. His two touchdown passes - a 24-yarder to Joey Galloway and a 5-yarder to Jeff Robinson - boosted an offense that had scored only four TDs in four games.

Dallas also scored on a trick play, a third-and-1 handoff to fullback Richie Anderson that turned into an option pitch to Aveion Cason for a 16-yard score. Those were the winning points.

Carolina's Jake Delhomme was only 2-of-7 for 41 yards in the first half, and finished 9-for-24 for 175 yards. He threw a 1-yard pass to Brad Hoover in the third quarter that tied the game at 17.

Both teams were hurt by penalties: three long pass interferences against Dallas, four false starts by Carolina. There also were two missed field goals by both kickers.

Carolina's usually reliable John Kasay went wide left on a 52-yarder early in the fourth quarter. He missed twice last week after making 22 in a row.

Dallas' Billy Cundiff missed from 49 and 44 on the possessions surrounding Kasay's miss. It was his first two-miss game this season.

The Panthers ran for only 75 yards. Carolina's Stephen Davis was limited to 59 on 26 carries. He also scored a touchdown.

Davis upped his season total to 1,143 yards, most in franchise history. His seven touchdowns tie the club record.

Dallas ran for only 65 yards.

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