Wild Card Round: Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers (Ericsson Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sat January 3, 2004 at 8:09pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers at Ericsson Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Ericsson Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Dallas Cowboys versus Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Dallas Cowboys-Carolina Panthers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 14-2 | W12 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10-6 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6-10 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 6-10 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 10-6 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-10 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 12-4 | W1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 12-4 | W3 |
| Houston Texans | 5-11 | L4 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 5-11 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 13-3 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 10-6 | L1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | L2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Rams | 12-4 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 10-6 | W2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7-9 | L1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 4-12 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 12-4 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 5-11 | L3 |
| New York Giants | 4-12 | L8 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 10-6 | W4 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 7-9 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 11-5 | W3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8-8 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7-9 | L2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-11 | W2 |
2003 Week 18 NFC Wildcard Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers
1/3/2004 Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers NFC Wild Card Playoff
Cowboys vs Panthers Wild Card Game Highlights 2003 NFL Playoffs
2003 NFC Wild Card Playoffs - Dallas Cowboys vs Carolina Panthers January 3rd 2004 Highlights
2003 Playoffs NFC Divisional Round: Panthers Upset Rams in 2OT | NFL Full Game
2003 NFC Wild Card Game Dallas v CarolinaDallas Cowboys None, Carolina Panthers None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0331010 |
| Carolina Panthers | 6 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 616232929 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Panthers | John Kasay 18 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Panthers | John Kasay 38 yard field goal | 0-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Panthers | Stephen Davis 23 yard rush ( John Kasay kick) | 0-13 |
| Cowboys | Billy Cundiff 37 yard field goal | 3-13 |
| Panthers | John Kasay 19 yard field goal | 3-16 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Panthers | Steve Smith Sr. 32 yard pass from Jake Delhomme ( John Kasay kick) | 3-23 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Panthers | John Kasay 32 yard field goal | 3-26 |
| Cowboys | Quincy Carter 9 yard rush ( Billy Cundiff kick) | 10-26 |
| Panthers | John Kasay 34 yard field goal | 10-29 |
Carolina Panthers defeated Dallas Cowboys 29-10 at Ericsson Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Panthers: John Kasay 34 yard field goal. Top line of the day: Jake Delhomme: 273 pass yards on 18-of-29, 1 TD, 0 INT. Carolina Panthers advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Carolina Panthers walked out of Ericsson Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Dallas Cowboys will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 29-10. The final scoring play came from Panthers: John Kasay 34 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Carolina Panthers advance to the divisional round.
Carolina Panthers 29, Dallas Cowboys 10. Round: Wild Card Round. Attendance: 73014. Q1: 2 scoring plays. Q2: 3 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Jake Delhomme: 273 pass yards on 18-of-29, 1 TD, 0 INT
- Stephen Davis: 104 rush yards on 26 carries
- Steve Smith Sr.: 5 catches for 135 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Ericsson Stadium. Final: Dallas Cowboys 10, Carolina Panthers 29, with Carolina Panthers taking the result by 19. **First quarter**
- Panthers: John Kasay 18 yard field goal
- Panthers: John Kasay 38 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Panthers: Stephen Davis 23 yard rush ( John Kasay kick)
- Cowboys: Billy Cundiff 37 yard field goal
- Panthers: John Kasay 19 yard field goal
Third quarter
- Panthers: Steve Smith Sr. 32 yard pass from Jake Delhomme ( John Kasay kick)
Fourth quarter
- Panthers: John Kasay 32 yard field goal
- Cowboys: Quincy Carter 9 yard rush ( Billy Cundiff kick)
- Panthers: John Kasay 34 yard field goal
Top performers
- Jake Delhomme: 273 pass yards on 18-of-29, 1 TD, 0 INT
- Stephen Davis: 104 rush yards on 26 carries
- Steve Smith Sr.: 5 catches for 135 yards
| Cowboys | Panthers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 10 | 16 |
| Total Yards | 204 | 380 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 21/36 | 18/29 |
| Pass yards | 154 | 273 |
| Pass TD | 0 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 3 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 22 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 132 | 273 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 18 | 34 |
| Rush yards | 72 | 107 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 2 | 0 |
| Penalty yards | 11 | 0 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL | |||||
| Quincy Carter | 21/36 | 154 | 0 | 1 | |
| CAR | |||||
| Jake Delhomme | 18/29 | 273 | 1 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL | ||||
| Troy Hambrick | 8 | 29 | 0 | 16 |
| Quincy Carter | 4 | 25 | 1 | 9 |
| Richie Anderson | 6 | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| CAR | ||||
| Stephen Davis | 26 | 104 | 1 | 23 |
| Muhsin Muhammad | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Brad Hoover | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jake Delhomme | 2 | -2 | 0 | -1 |
| DeShaun Foster | 4 | -2 | 0 | 3 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL | ||||
| Joey Galloway | 4 | 59 | 0 | 28 |
| Terry Glenn | 4 | 38 | 0 | 21 |
| Jason Witten | 4 | 30 | 0 | 12 |
| Richie Anderson | 7 | 20 | 0 | 12 |
| Antonio Bryant | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Troy Hambrick | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| CAR | ||||
| Steve Smith Sr. | 5 | 135 | 1 | 70 |
| Muhsin Muhammad | 4 | 103 | 0 | 57 |
| Brad Hoover | 2 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
| DeShaun Foster | 2 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Ricky Proehl | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Stephen Davis | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jermaine Wiggins | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Kris Mangum | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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