With Terrell Owens watching the second half from the locker room, the Dallas Cowboys had to depend on their running game and their defense to avoid a second straight upset loss.
Tony Romo threw for 257 yards and a touchdown and the Cowboys overcame the loss of Owens to a left ankle injury in a 20-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night.
While Dallas (13-2) moved a step closer to clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Cowboys were dealing with another injury to a key offensive player.
Last week it was Romo, who bruised his right thumb and was ineffective in a loss to Philadelphia. Now it's Owens, who left in the second quarter after his left leg got caught underneath him after a catch.
The Cowboys made it 14-0 a play after Owens left, but failed to score another touchdown.
After the Panthers (6-9) cut it to 20-13 on John Kasay's 25-yard field goal with 3:01 left, the Cowboys put it away on Barber's 11-yard run with 1:45 left.
Barber rushed for 110 yards on 22 carries to help Dallas match the 1992 team for the most victories in franchise history.
But despite improving to 7-0 on the road, the Cowboys struggled to put away the Panthers, who started undrafted rookie Matt Moore for a second straight week.
Moore, who like Romo went undrafted and spent training camp with the Cowboys, threw for 182 yards.
But Moore was sacked five times, twice by DeMarcus Ware and the Cowboys' defense was strong despite the absence of Roy Williams, who was serving a one-game suspension for an illegal ``horse-collar'' tackle.
RSS