11:55 AM EST on Monday, December 26, 2005

By JENNA FRYER / AP Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a somber, almost silent post-game locker room, the Carolina Panthers were all too aware of what had just slipped away.

CHUCK BURTON / AP Carolina Panthers players, from top, Julius Peppers, Chris Gamble, Marlon McCree (27), and Ricky Manning, Jr. (24) watch the final seconds of their 24-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in their NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday Dec. 24, 2005.

A 24-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday dropped the Panthers from NFC South front-runners to wild-card wannabes. In the hours after the beating, it was easy to blame the officials - for star receiver Steve Smith's ejection to the contested running into the kicker call that gave Dallas the second opportunity it needed to score the game-winning touchdown.

But when calmer heads prevail, the Panthers will realize they have no one to blame for their current predicament but themselves.

"The Cowboys kicked our butt," linebacker Brandon Short said. "They executed better than we did. I never would have expected it."

No one did, especially after Carolina opened a 10-0 first-quarter lead against a Dallas team that was trying to rebound from a humiliating blowout loss in Washington the week before.

With a double-digit lead just minutes into the game, the Panthers seemed poised to roll toward locking up a postseason berth. All they needed to do was beat Dallas to get in, and the victory would have kept them on pace to wrap up the division title.

Instead, Carolina's defense collapsed, the offense stopped clicking and Smith grabbed an official out of frustration, earning an instant ejection that forced him to watch the Panthers lose for the second time in three games from the locker room.

It dropped Carolina to 10-5 and into a tie with Tampa Bay for the division lead, but the Buccaneers need only to win next week's finale against New Orleans to clinch the division.

The Panthers, meanwhile, likely need to win in Atlanta to even make the playoffs. And everyone knows that won't be easy: Although Carolina beat the Falcons 24-6 earlier this season, Atlanta has won 12 of the last 15 meetings.

"We have to win if we want to get in," offensive guard Mike Wahle said. "Historically it's been a tough place for us, we're all aware of that. We've got to come back and show something next week if we want to go to the postseason."

It will start with the defense, which had an uncharacteristically poor effort against the Cowboys. Ranked third overall in the NFL in total defense, the Panthers had been almost impossible to run on most of the season.

Video on Demand

VIDEO: Coach John Fox

VIDEO: Quarterback Jake Delhomme

Build your own newscast

But Julius Jones found holes to run through, tallying a season-high 194 yards and two touchdowns - including a 43-yard score. It was his first game over the 100-yard mark this season and the biggest showing against Carolina this year.

His output also made the Cowboys the first team in 10 games to gain more than 300 yards total offense against Carolina.

"They were exploiting us in the running game," safety Mike Minter said. "The middle was wide open, so it was tough. But the running game takes all 11 guys. People talk about the front seven, but it takes all 11 of us to stop the run. None of us did that."

The Panthers also suffered an immeasurable loss on offense when Smith was ejected in the third quarter for grabbing the line judge while protesting a tackle. Smith was knocked out of bounds by Terence Newman after picking up a Jake Delhomme fumble, and believed he was hit again by another Dallas player as he attempted to get up.

He then put his arms around official Mark Steinkerchner - not maliciously, it appeared to be more of an embrace as he made his argument - but Steinkerchner still ejected him.

"A grab is off limits, absolutely," head referee Terry McAulay said.

Without Smith, the Panthers had only 17-year veteran Ricky Proehl and Drew Carter, playing in just his second NFL game, to run the offense. It might have been enough - Proehl caught a 35-yard touchdown pass with 2:32 to play to put the Panthers up 20-17 - but the Cowboys quickly moved into field goal range.

Billy Cundiff's attempt missed, and Carolina cornerback Ken Lucas insisted the kick was no good because he got a finger on the ball to change the trajectory just as he and Julius Peppers crashed into Cundiff. The officials disagreed and called Peppers for running into the kicker.

The controversial call gave Dallas a new set of downs and led to the game-winning touchdown with 24 seconds to play. Lucas argued vehemently that the officials botched both his deflection and the running into the kicker call, costing Carolina the game.

Too bad the Panthers will find plenty of other areas where their own miscues did them in.

"Unfortunately we allowed that game to be close and for it come down to that," linebacker Chris Draft said.