Romo, Cowboys hope to bounce back against Panthers

Williams was suspended Monday for one game for another "horse collar" tackle on Donovan McNabb. His appeal was turned down Wednesday, and Keith Davis will likely replace Dallas' leader in solo tackles.

A week ago, the Cowboys' many problems wouldn't seem to matter against the Panthers, who had lost six of seven and were preparing to start their NFL-high fourth quarterback against the NFC West champions.

Then Moore, who still occasionally exchanges text messages with Romo, had a turnover-free performance and led three fourth-quarter scoring drives in Carolina's 13-10 win over the Seahawks.

Who knew Moore would be the hotter quarterback going into Saturday's game?

"I'm pleased with just how I managed the game," said Moore, who played at Oregon State. "I didn't make a huge mistake, that was big. Any little turnover or a third-down mishap or whatever, that could have changed the game."

The Panthers' defense has also improved. Behind safety Chris Harris' NFL-high eight forced fumbles and energetic rookie linebacker Jon Beason, Carolina held Seattle to 44 yards rushing and Matt Hasselbeck without a touchdown pass until 1 second left.

"The secondary made plays. The D-line made plays," Beason said. "We know we can win that way."

Carolina is the only 6-8 team still mathematically alive in the playoff race, which is hard to believe considering Carolina's quarterbacks struggles.

And after upsetting Seattle, maybe the heavy underdogs will have a chance against Dallas, which looked beatable after Romo had snapped his team-record streak of 17 straight games with at least one touchdown pass.

Maybe Romo needs to think back to his starting debut nearly 14 months ago against Carolina, when he turned a 14-10 fourth-quarter deficit into a 35-14 win - before the A-list invites started rolling in.

"It seemed so special because it was such a back-and-forth game. Tony just kind of took over there toward the end," recalled tight end Jason Witten. "I remember that because it showed us what our future was going to hold for us with our quarterback and finally finding that guy.

"I just remember how well he really played."