THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997 TAG: 9701060120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE LENGTH: 103 lines
They kept calling it ``Carolina Panthers Football.''
That's what's funny about the Panthers' 26-17 playoff victory Sunday, the one that launches them into the NFC title game against the Green Bay Packers. A year ago - and for most of the 1990s - the style of play that has moved them one victory from Super Bowl XXXI has been best known as ``Dallas Cowboys Football.''
Yes, the Panthers whipped the defending Super Bowl champions at their own game Sunday before 72,808 at festive Ericsson Stadium.
Their offensive line pushed the Dallas defensive front from one end of the field to the other in gouging out 127 rushing yards, Anthony Johnson getting 104.
Their quarterback and tight end played pitch-and-catch three times, once for a touchdown.
The defense was suffocating and nasty, sending Dallas stars Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders from the game with a broken collarbone and head injury, respectively. They also forced three interceptions by Troy Aikman, two of them after Dallas had driven deep into Panthers territory.
Finally, their special teams were superb. John Kasay kicked four field goals in as many attempts and returner Michael Bates averaged more than 30 yards per kickoff.
Put it all together and the Panthers, 3-point underdogs, earned the upset victory far easier than anyone imagined.
``We're rolling,'' Carolina linebacker Kevin Greene crowed. ``I don't know anything about passing torches, but I know we are right where we need to be.
``We took away their weapons. We controlled the running game. They turned the ball over and we made the big plays. We knew what these guys were going to do against us, try to hammer us with Emmitt Smith, throw the ball on us, but we were able to take their weapons out of the game. That's how we won.''
It didn't start out that way. Quarterback Kerry Collins' second pass was intercepted by Dallas' Darren Woodson at the Cowboys 47. Dallas turned that into a field goal and 3-0 lead. That was the last time Dallas even hinted at being in control of things.
Collins immediately guided his team on a 68-yard touchdown drive, hitting tight end Wesley Walls on a 1-yard scoring toss.
Collins and Willie Green finished off the next possession by combining on a 10-yard strike for a 14-3 lead.
With the exception Troy Aikman's 2-yard TD flip to fullback Darryl Johnston, a play on which Johnston made a stunning one-hand grab, the Cowboys never could completely finish off a drive. Three times, Dallas was in the red zone but settled for field goals.
``To do that three times and come away with three points hurt,'' said Smith, limited to 80 yards on 22 carries. ``I can only point to great defensive play. They are professionals, too. They are paid to execute. They execute just like we do.''
Sunday, they executed a lot better.
``I'm not shocked, but very disappointed,'' Aikman said. ``I think a lot of people didn't think they were a good football team, but they are. They are very good. They earned this victory.''
Carolina's no-name offensive line manhandled the Cowboys. After the Cowboys were able to turn a fumbled punt by Winslow Oliver into just three points and a 17-14 deficit early in the third quarter, the Panthers mauled the Dallas defense, defying the Cowboys to stop even their most basic plays.
On a 10-play drive that resulted in a field goal only because of safety George Teague's touchdown-saving tackle of Anthony Johnson on one play and Johnson's inexplicable drop of a screen pass on another, the Panthers ran seven consecutive times and gained 50 yards before Kasay's 40-yarder with 4:58 to play in the third quarter.
``The offensive line was the key,'' said Collins, who threw just 22 times, completing 12 for exactly 100 yards. ``With AJ (Anthony Johnson) running the way he was and the whole line blocking like they were, I felt like it was going to be our day on offense.''
Another field goal by Kasay sent the Panthers into the fourth quarter with a 23-14 edge. Aikman, who passed 36 times, but completed just 18 for 165 yards, tried to bring Dallas back and would have gotten them a touchdown had not tight end Eric Bjornson not dropped a pass in the end zone. But they settled for a 21-yard Boniol field goal that brought them back to within six.
The Dallas defense held, but Johnson downed Rohn Stark's punt at the Cowboys' 2 with 3:44 to play. Aided by a couple of penalties, Dallas moved to its 37 when Aikman launched a bomb into double-coverage that safety Pat Terrell intercepted. That led to Kasay's 32-yard field goal, after which linebacker Sam Mills intercepted another Aikman pass and returned it to the Dallas 2.
Humanely, Collins knelt twice to run out the clock.
Afterwards, players from both teams agreed that Carolina's victory wasn't a fluke.
``A lot of guys on this team have been there (before in their career),'' Greene said. ``A lot of them have been to the `Big Show.' A lot of them have Super Bowl rings. A lot of them have been Pro Bowlers. We're all clicking.''
Call it what you want. It's football good enough to get a team to the Super Bowl, as the Panthers hope to prove in Green Bay this weekend. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Carolina's Andre Royal puts a hit on Dallas QB Troy Aikman, who was
18 of 36 for one touchdown with three interceptions. ``I'm not
shocked, but very disappointed,'' Aikman said. ``I think a lot of
people didn't think they were a good football team, but they are.
They are very good. They earned this victory.''
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE PHOTO
Panthers veteran linebacker Sam Mills, front, celebrates his
interception in the final moments of the game with teammate Matt
Elliott. The 37-year-old Mills was all over the field - stuffing
runs and batting down passes.