CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The camera lights shined on linebacker Bradie James as he walked into the Cowboys' locker room, his uniform covered in grass stains.
"Y'all didn't think we could do that," he said to no one in particular before moving out of sight.
Not with a quarterback, Tony Romo, making the first start of his career. Not with a defense giving up big plays at an alarming rate. Not with a team's confidence wobbled, especially facing a 14-0 deficit after the first quarter.
But the Cowboys did what many thought they could not do.
Romo completed 24 of 36 passes for 270 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The defense did not surrender a play longer than 24 yards all game.
And confidence was restored with a 35-14 whipping of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night at Bank of America Stadium.
"We had a lot to gain tonight," running back Julius Jones said. "We said our season starts now. Hopefully, it will carry over."
Romo was named the starter over Drew Bledsoe on Wednesday when coach Bill Parcells decided he needed to make a change. Romo made only one poor decision, when he forced a throw to Terrell Owens that Carolina intercepted and turned into a 24-yard scoring run by receiver Steve Smith and a 14-0 lead
But Romo rebounded on the Cowboys' next possession, ending the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to his roommate on the road, tight end Jason Witten.
With Romo at quarterback, Owens was able to set highs in catches (nine) and yards (107) in his brief time with the Cowboys.
Romo was sacked only twice.
"I thought he did a pretty good job," Parcells said of Romo's performance. "I know it was a big decision to make. It was a hard decision to make. I'm glad it worked out – temporarily anyway."
The Cowboys bottled up Smith, who was blanketed most of the night by Terence Newman, keeping him to 55 yards on six catches. The defense also held DeShaun Foster to 50 yards on 15 carries. And Greg Ellis, a North Carolina native, came up with two sacks.
But, after a field goal by Mike Vanderjagt had cut the Panthers' lead to 14-13 early in the fourth, it was a play on special teams that changed the momentum for good.
Sam Hurd recovered a fumble by Brad Hoover at the Panthers' 14. One play later, Jones – who ran for 92 yards on 24 carries – gave the Cowboys the lead for good on a 14-yard jaunt up the middle. Marion Barber added two more rushing touchdowns.
After the game, right guard Marco Rivera handed the game ball to Romo, and Parcells gave the players an even bigger present:
A day off.
"We haven't been having a lot of fun," Parcells said. "They're having fun right now, and that's what I enjoy the most: when I see the faces of those players. I've been in a lot of locker rooms like this one tonight. I've been fortunate.
"But, hey, we're seven weeks in. I'm not counting any chickens."
MICHAEL AINSWORTH / DMN
Tony Romo (9) and Terrell Owens share a laugh near the end of Sunday night's win.
The Cowboys improved to 4-3 , remained in the NFC picture and – at the very least – gained a tiebreaking advantage on a conference rival in the Panthers (4-4).
Romo became just the 13th quarterback in team history to come away with a victory in his first start, joining a list that includes Roger Staubach, Danny White and even Bledsoe. Romo's 270 passing yards were fourth most by a quarterback in his Cowboys debut, bested in a winning effort only by Gary Hogeboom (343), who beat the Los Angeles Rams, 20-13, on Sept. 3, 1984.
"It's been tough, you never know, the change that we made at quarterback," Romo said. "You never know what you're going to get. I was anxious, just like Bill was, to see what we were going to do."
After Jones' touchdown put the Cowboys up by a score, Roy Williams came up with his third interception of the season after Jake Delhomme tried to force a throw downfield to Keyshawn Johnson.
Jones and Barber took turns on running the ball before Barber bulled his way in from the 3. Another turnover, thanks to Ellis' second sack, was turned into another touchdown with 1:37 to play.
The comeback was complete.
The season just started.
"I think this team has a lot of heart and a lot of resilience," Romo said. "We showed that tonight."
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
