A Costly Win: Cowboys Knock Off Panthers, 20-13

Coming off an embarrassing showing a week ago against the Eagles at home, Dallas needed a win against Carolina to get their confidence back and stay ahead of the Green Bay Packers in the race for home field in the NFC playoffs.

They got the win, 20-13, Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium, with the victory boosting Dallas to a franchise best 13-2 record, and leaving them either one victory away or a Green Bay loss from securing home-field in the NFC.

The victory was the Cowboys’ tenth-straight road win and assured them of a winning record over the last five games of the season (3-1 with one left) for the first time since 1996—which, not coincidentally, is the last season in which the Cowboys won a playoff game. 

Tony Romo set a Cowboys record with 4,125 passing yards, Baby Drop broke Frank Clarke’s single-season touchdown record with his 15th catch for points, and DeMarcus Ware (13) and Greg Ellis (12 ½) will both finish the season with over 12 sacks. Ware had two sacks in the game, and Ellis recorded another.
 
Why the long face then, you ask? Baby Drop suffered a high ankle sprain in the second quarter, and did not return to the game. X-rays were negative, but the real long faces will come when an MRI tells just how long he will be out. Early indications are for at least the season-ender at Washington, and possibly for the Cowboys first playoff game on either the 12th or 13th of January.
 
The value of Owens to the offense can be easily seen in Saturday's matchup. Before he limped off the field with 6:57 remaining in the second quarter, the Cowboys were up 14-0, and he had five catches for 48 yards and the aforementioned TD pass. With Owens out, the Cowboys would not score another TD and could only muster 6 points the rest of the game.

It’s impossible to replace Owens’ 81 catches, 1,355 receiving yards, and 15 TDs. The Cowboys learned that first-hand, as they only gained 114 yards of offense in the second half to give them a total of 405 for the game.

If you just looked at the stats from the game, you’d amazed it was this close. Tony Romo rebounded from his worst outing ever as a pro, and finished with 257 yards on 28 of 42 passing with one TD, one INT and no sacks. However, he only completed seven of 10 passes in the second half.

The Cowboys got their running game going again, with Marion Barber finishing with 110 yards on 22 carries and a TD. Barber's performance came after he and Julius Jones combined for 48 yards on 14 carries just a week ago.

Carolina only managed 216 yards of total offense, and 96 of those came on just two plays—a DeAngelo Williams 39-yard run, and a Steve Smith 57-yard catch. Rookie Matt Moore finished with 182 yards on 15 for 28 passing with one TD and one INT, but was sacked five times.
 
The injury bug has definitely hit the Cowboys at the worst time with Owens now out indefinitely, center Andre Gurode and safety Pat Watkins out, Roy Williams suspended, and—for a brief period in Saturday's game—corner Terence Newman and nose tackle Jay Ratliff down with injuries.

That’s without even mentioning receiver Terry Glenn, who has missed the entire season but may indeed play Sunday against the Redskins—now that Owens is almost certainly out of that game.  

This was a much-needed win, but one that may possibly cost the Cowboys later down the road. The playoffs start for Dallas in three weeks. If Owens can come back for the first playoff game, the Cowboys will remain the favorites in the NFC.

But if Owens is out for anything longer than that, the Cowboys will have virtually no chance at getting to Arizona on February 3. 

Owens is the playmaker in their offense, and without him it, the Cowboys' receivers will have a hard time moving the ball and drawing double teams.

Here’s hoping Santa brings the Cowboys some good news for Christmas.