Panthers (11-0) rout Cowboys; Tony Romo hurt again

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Panther perfection continued in a 33-14 Thanksgiving Day rout that silenced local happy talk about the Cowboys' remote postseason hopes.

Carolina returned two Tony Romo interceptions for touchdowns in the first half and knocked him out of the game on a sack by Thomas Davis on the final play of the third quarter. At that point, the Panthers (11-0) led 30-6 en route to their 15th consecutive regular-season win.

After spending several minutes on his back, Romo walked off with what was diagnosed as a left clavicle injury and did not return. Coach Jason Garrett said X-rays were "inconclusive'' and that Romo is scheduled to have a CT scan Friday.

"Obviously, it doesn't feel right, so we'll see,'' said Romo, whose left arm was in a sling. "It has a similar-type feeling [to previous injuries], but you never know until you get it X-rayed. We'll see after the CT scan.''

Before a national TV audience and 90,909 fans at AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys (3-8) lost for the first time this season with Romo as the starter. It left them 21/2 games behind the NFC East-leading Giants (5-5).

"I'm just very disappointed in not giving our team a chance to win today," Romo said.

It was Romo's second start after a seven-game absence because of a fractured left collarbone. The Cowboys were 0-7 without him.

Romo completed 11 of 21 for only 106 yards with three interceptions. His second throw was intercepted by safety Kurt Coleman, who went 36 yards from sideline to sideline for a 7-0 lead 59 seconds into the game.

Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly added the other two picks within moments of each other in the second quarter. Kuechly returned the first 32 yards for a TD and a 20-3 lead with 2:36 to go in the half. He added to Romo's embarrassment by pushing him away as he crossed the goal line.

Eleven seconds later, Kuechly made an acrobatic grab of a deep pass down the middle and returned it 17 yards to the Dallas 29. That led to a 25-yard field goal by Graham Gano, who also connected from 49, 43 and 50 yards.

"We started fast on defense,'' Kuechly said. "We're trying to improve every week.''

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who is squarely in the MVP conversation, scored on a 4-yard run and led an efficient offense that dominated time of possession by more than 10 minutes.

Newton completed 16 of 27 passes for 183 yards and rushed for another 45, punctuating his TD run with a throwback version of "the Twist'' -- which was popular more than 50 years ago.

"Yeah, you know, I've got a diverse dancing ability,'' said Newton, who drew criticism for an extended routine of hip-hop moves after scoring against the Titans on Nov. 15.

"Back in the day, they used to do the Twist. Every now and then when I get my grandma [Hattie] up to dance, she likes to Twist. We got a much-needed win and it's fun.''

The Panthers have a 41/2-game lead over the Falcons in the NFC South.

"It's nice. I'm excited about where we are,'' coach Ron Rivera said. "There's still a lot of things for us to accomplish, a lot of things for us to do.''