CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Former Cowboys receiver Keyshawn Johnson found himself in the thick of important plays three times for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.
Two involved penalty flags, none were receptions and all contained an appropriate dose of drama.
Johnson, who left Dallas in the off-season as a free agent, drew two first-half pass interference penalties.
Johnson twice moved the chains by drawing penalties. Then, on third-and-10 from the Dallas 40 in the third quarter, a well-thrown ball from Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme bounced off the hands of a wide-open Johnson, caromed off his shoulder pads and then fell harmlessly to the ground inside the 10-yard line.
Johnson remained kneeling, with his head on the turf, for several seconds after the play. He flung his helmet when he reached the sideline, while the punt team took the field.
"If I catch that pass and I walk into the end zone," Johnson said, "now it's 21-10. Then things start to happen a little bit different for us. All of a sudden, things just start going wrong.
"We just looked up and, before you knew it, they were ahead."
Afterward, Johnson didn't want to reflect on a frustrating evening that culminated with one catch for 19 yards. Carolina enters the bye week with two straight losses after having put together a four-game winning streak.
"We're a long way of being out of this thing, but the door is slowly closing," Johnson said. "Eventually, if we don't get our act together, it will close all the way on us."
The interference penalty Johnson drew in the second half evolved slower than he would have liked. Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman appeared to hit Johnson on a pass over the middle just before the ball arrived. After the whistle blew, Johnson pleaded with officials, arms outstretched, for several seconds before a flag was thrown.
Johnson made his only reception on the next play, a 19-yard gain to midfield with 8:45 left in the third quarter. Later, on the same drive, Johnson ran a flare down the left sideline. The ball hit Newman on the backside at the 10-yard line, and this time, Johnson's pleas for a penalty went unanswered.
Johnson spoke at length last week about the way network television chose to bill the Sunday night game, as Johnson vs. Terrell Owens, and Johnson's motivation of "revenge" for having been replaced by T.O.
"It's disgusting," he said Wednesday. "If they [Cowboys] had given me the money, I'd have been lining up opposite him."
Eli Pacheco is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, N.C.
