Ken Lucas and Julius Peppers pushed through the line, grasping at air in an effort to block Billy Cundiff's field goal.

Lucas was positive his left middle finger touched the ball right before he and Peppers crashed into the kicker. The deflection changed the trajectory, caused Cundiff's attempt to miss and locked up a postseason berth for the Carolina Panthers.

The officials said otherwise.

Peppers was called for roughing the kicker, giving the visiting Dallas Cowboys a second chance to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.

Terry Glenn seized the opportunity by catching a 2-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds to play yesterday to lift the Cowboys to a 24-20 victory against Carolina and ruin the Panthers' chance to clinch a playoff berth.

Lucas was furious with the outcome.

"Definitely I touched the ball. Both me and God know it but I guess it wasn't enough to turn the play over," Lucas said. "Besides that, that wasn't roughing the kicker. Me and [Peppers] landed on the ground and the kicker just fell over us.

"The referees, they called a lot of questionable calls today. What they did was they decided the game and decided the fate of who was going to win."

Cundiff, who had a first-half attempt blocked by Peppers, believed he was roughed.

"There was one guy down at my feet and another guy was right there where my leg was up in the air, so I had nowhere to go and the guy grazed me," Cundiff said. "I was hit."

Either way, it was the second chance Dallas (9-6) needed.

After two running plays, Drew Bledsoe found Glenn in the corner of the end zone for the winning score.

It was a terrific bounceback for Dallas, which was humiliated, 35-7, in Washington last week, and kept the Cowboys in contention for one of the NFC's wild-card spots.

"I think this team has a little spunk to it, I really do," coach Bill Parcells said. "I know we've had some ups and downs, but I like them. I do."

The Panthers (10-5) now find themselves in a logjam for the NFC South title.

They entered the game one game up on Tampa Bay but now are with the Buccaneers atop the division.

It capped off a frustrating day of undisciplined football that saw Carolina star receiver Steve Smith ejected in the third quarter for grabbing an official and an unusually poor defensive effort from the Panthers.

"The Cowboys kicked our butt," linebacker Brandon Short said. "They executed better than we did. I never would have expected it."

Julius Jones ran for a season-high 194 yards and two touchdowns as the Cowboys became the first team in 10 games to gain more than 300 yards total offense against Carolina. Glenn finished with 88 yards on four catches and the winning score.

Jones did the most damage, running roughshod over the Panthers and passing the 100-yard mark for the first time this season. He scored on a 43-yard touchdown run to put the Cowboys ahead, 17-13, late in the third quarter.

Other games

Broncos 22, Raiders 3: Jake Plummer threw for 268 yards, Mike Anderson surpassed the 1,000-yard mark on the season and host Denver (12-3) won the AFC West, earned a week off and routed Oakland (4-11). The Broncos closed out an undefeated season at home. Only Sebastian Janikowski's 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter prevented the Raiders from being shut out for the first time since 1997. Even so, they lost their fifth in a row and fell to 5-17 lifetime against Denver's Mike Shanahan, the coach Al Davis fired early in the 1989 season.

Lions 13, Saints 12: Jason Hanson rushed onto the field and kicked a 39-yard knuckleball field goal as the final seconds ticked off, giving Detroit (5-10) a victory in San Antonio. New Orleans (3-12) figured to have this one locked away when John Carney kicked his fourth field goal for a 12-10 lead with 1:52 to play. But Joey Harrington, the Lions' beleaguered quarterback, connected with Roy Williams for two big completions on the Lions' final drive. The win snapped a five-game losing streak.

Dolphins 24, Titans 10: With his best performance since returning from a one-year retirement, Ricky Williams rushed for 172 yards and helped host Miami (8-7) cap a perfect December by defeating Tennessee (4-11). Miami has won five in a row for the first time since 1999. They went 4-0 in December under first-year coach Nick Saban, finishing the month unbeaten for the first time in 20 years.

49ers 24, Rams 20: Frank Gore scored the deciding touchdown on a 30-yard run with 4:05 to go and seldom-used Maurice Hicks scored untouched on a 73-yarder on the game's first snap in San Francisco's comeback victory against sagging St. Louis (5-10). The 49ers (3-12) ended a seven-game losing streak. They swept the Rams (5-10) for the first time since 1998.

Cardinals 27, Eagles 21: Arizona (5-10) and Josh McCown left Sun Devil Stadium winners. McCown threw touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and the Cardinals beat Philadelphia (6-9). It was Arizona's final game at the stadium that has been its "temporary" home since the franchise moved from St. Louis in 1988. The Cardinals move to their $370 million new stadium in the western suburb of Glendale next fall.