DALLAS' DYNASTY DAYS ARE DONE : CAROLINA 23, DALLAS 13.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

The Carolina Panthers unceremoniously ended the Dallas Cowboys' five-year reign as NFC East champion.

Kerry Collins threw two touchdown passes and Fred Lane rushed for 138 yards Monday night as the Panthers stayed alive in the NFC wild-card race and all but eliminated the Cowboys with a 23-13 victory.

Carolina evened its record at 7-7 while Dallas dropped to 6-8. With two games left, the Cowboys have only an outside chance of making the playoffs for a seventh consecutive year.

The New York Giants have an 8-5-1 record in the NFC East, and Dallas can't catch them.

The Panthers have ended the Cowboys' hopes twice in the last year.

Carolina knocked Dallas out of the NFL title contention with a 26-17 victory on Jan. 5 in the divisional playoffs.

Collins, who suffered a concussion last week, hit key passes while Lane kept Dallas off balance with his hard runs despite the presence of tackle Leon Lett, who made some spectacular plays in his first game back after a one-year suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

Collins, who threw a 15-yard TD pass to Rae Carruth in the second quarter, guided Carolina on a 69-yard drive to open the second half. That put the Panthers ahead 17-6.

He completed passes of 13 yards to Anthony Johnson, 18 yards to Muhsin Muhammad and finally found Scott Greene on a 1-yard touchdown pass.

John Kasay then hit a 40-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, making it 20-6. He also had an 18-yarder with 53 seconds left to finish off the Cowboys.

Troy Aikman hit Michael Irvin with a 52-yard touchdown to put Dallas within seven points with 6:33 left.

However, with a four-and-1 on the Carolina 45, Aikman was trapped for a 25-yard loss by safety Chad Cota with 3:27 left.

The Panthers dominated the first half to take a 10-6 lead over the Cowboys, who lost running back Emmitt Smith after he reinjured his left shoulder trying to make a block. Tight end Eric Bjornson also fractured his left shin.

Collins, who fractured a jaw in the exhibition season and suffered a concussion last week, hit Carruth for the TD after Kasay had kicked a 34-yard field goal.

The only Dallas points in the first half came on field goals of 45 and 32 yards by Richie Cunningham, his 32nd and 33rd of the season to break the club record of 32 by Chris Boniol in 1996.

It was the first time Dallas coach Barry Switzer had ever been part of a three-game losing streak in college or the pros, a span of 259 games. Dallas hadn't lost three games in a row since 1990.

Carolina lost cornerback Eric Davis late in the fourth quarter when his helmet hit the knee of running back Sherman Williams. Davis left the field on a stretcher, and his injuries were not immediately determined.

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PHOTO (color) Carolina's Rae Carruth is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter.

Associated Press