By Don Stone - Football Atlanta
Traffic was stagnant on the
way to the Georgia Dome on this overcast Sunday. Not only did you have
Chipper Jones'
final regular season home game at Turner Field but a hot 3-0 Falcons team
hosting division rival Carolina...all making their way on the downtown
connector.
69,594 eventually found their way into the Dome and the
Falcons found some congestion of their own to start the game when the
Panthers got off to a fast start on both sides of the ball. Their defense
held Atlanta to a three and out to start the game. The result was great
field position for Carolina to open at their own 47.
Cam Newton was
ready as he
quickly broke free for a 32 yard run to the
Falcons 18. The talented QB then hit tight end Greg Olsen
for a 17 yard TD putting the Panthers up to
an unexpected 7-0 lead.
This was the first time this season that Atlanta hasn't scored on their
opening drive. Not only that but the first time this season that they had
trailed in a game.
The Falcons responded with one of their methodical drives.
Michael Turner took the handoff for 6 yards,
then 12 more to the ATL 40. Matt Ryan
hit Roddy White with a short pass that
went for 14 yards. Two more carries by Turner had the Falcons setting up
camp at the goal line. Ryan found tight end Tommy Gallarda
in the end zone for a score. But, it was
called back to the Falcons 11 on an offensive pass interference penalty.
They got part of it back and a new set of downs on a Panther penalty to CB
Josh Norman. The back and forth yardage ended
badly as Ryan was picked off trying to hit Julio Jones
in the end zone. Safety Haruki Nakamura
grabbed it and brought it out to the 21.
Newton again found Olsen, this time for 11. But that's all they
would get and Atlanta would start their drive at their 23.
The Falcons went right back to Turner who bullied his way through
several missed tackles for 17 yards. He got 11 more on the next play. That
set up an amazing pass that went 49 yards in the air to White who pulled it
down in the end zone to tie the game at 7.
Momentum continued to swing in Atlanta's favor as a promising
Steve Smith run was snuffed at the Carolina
30 when Dunta Robinson knocked the
ball loose and Ray Edwards recovered.
The first quarter would end with the Falcons doubling the Panthers in net
yards 142-75 and leading time of possession 10:53 to 4:07.
It was the Falcons' turn with a short field. They made it to
their 44 where Matt Bryant added three
points to give Atlanta their first lead 10-7 early in the second quarter.
The Panthers put up an effective 4:27 drive of their own on the
next possession that went 7 plays and 79 yards, culminating with a
DeAngelo Williams 13 yard romp into the end
zone. Carolina 14, Falcons 10.
Neither team would move the ball on their next drives. But, Atlanta
again had a short field starting at the 49. In eight plays, 3 minutes and 40
seconds, Ryan again connected with White, this time for 14 yards, giving
Atlanta the lead back 17-14.
This game was starting to bean an eerie resemblance to the Georgia
Tech-Middle Tennessee State game at Bobby Dodd Field yesterday when the
Yellow Jackets and Blue Raiders traded scores repeatedly until MTSU finally
started to pull away and won by three touchdowns in an upset. The home team
was hoping that pattern didn't repeat here today.
A very entertaining first half closed with Atlanta up by
three. The Panthers had gained in TOP but were still five minutes behind the
Falcons. Part of that was because they had outgained Atlanta 118-41 in
second quarter yardage.
The opening drives on the second half were quite different.
Carolina didn't do much. But, Atlanta did taking just 1:32 to go three plays
and 72 yards as Ryan hit Turner for a short pass. The RB then scrambled 60
yards all the way to make it 24-14...amazingly, the first receiving
touchdown of his NFL career.
As the next drive started, a friend in New Orleans texted "Go
Cam." I responded "No, Cam." Turns out, he was right as Newton put the team
on his back. On an impressive run, he scrambled 15 down to the Falcons 4,
then took it in on the next play to pull to within a field goal. On their
next drive, Carolina looked like they were in business again when Newton hit
Smith for what looked like a completion, which would give them a first down
at the Falcon 44. But, Mike Smith
threw a red flag and upon review, the catch was reversed, forcing the
Panthers to punt.
With 14 minutes remaining, Atlanta needed to add some distance in
the three point score. Turner seemed intent on making that happen bullying
his way for 14 yards tough yards followed by 21 more to take it to the 47
putting him over 100 yards. The drive eventually stalled at the 42 with the
punt backing Carolina to their 12.
But they weren't there long as Newton hit Olsen for 34 on the first
play putting them at the 46. RB Jonathan Stewart
added 15 with a hard run to the 36 and another first down. Then, just like
that, a 36 yard touchdown pass to WR Kealoha Pilares
and Carolina was up 28-24 with 7:55 remaining.
As the Falcons began their drive, it dawned on me that Julio
Jones had no receptions to this point. And
the second I typed that, the WR came down with a huge 30 yard catch on third
and ten to bring Atlanta to midfield. RB Jacquizz Rogers
grabbed two quick catches for 15 and 9
followed by a 15 yard penalty to give Atlanta first and ten at the 15. A
sack put them back to the 22.
On third and 19, Ryan managed to find Rogers for 7 as he was
hitting the ground forcing a 33 yard field goal by Bryant to puyll the
Falcons to within one, 28-27.
It was up to the defense to hold and give the offense another shot.
The did so in short order with a three and out. Atlanta had the ball on
their 29 with 3:16 left in the game. Three and out and the Falcons
surprisingly punted with just 2:30 left figuring out that they had three
time outs and the two minute warning to slow the clock.
Now, the defense really had to work. One first down and it might be
over. Newton got it and took it to the two minute warning. As the Falcons
used the rest of their time outs it came down to a third and two with 1:51
to go. On a dramatic play, John Abraham
forced a Newton fumble with the Panthers recovering but coming up short,
forcing a great punt that backed the Falcons up to the one with about 70
yards to go to get in field goal range with no time outs.
For a championship caliber team, all you want at the end of the
game is your hands on the ball with a chance to win it. Ryan immediately hit
White for a 59 yarder putting the ball at the 40 with 30 seconds to go.
"It was just a two-man route
sending out two big guys down there and we have the option to throw it to
either one," said coach Smith of the big play. "We practice that and Roddy
went up and made a great catch. Our offensive line did a great job. We put
guys in there specifically for that situation and they blocked it up, put us
in a chance to shoot it down field as far as we could."
A pass interference call moved it up to the
35, also stopping the clock. Gonzalez was next going out of bounds on the
24. Harry Douglas showed some great
footwork getting six more going out at the 22 with 10 seconds on the clock.
Bryant would have that shot with a 40 yard field goal. The Dome
erupted as the ball sailed through the uprights with 5 seconds on the clock.
This year seems different. Atlanta has a championship caliber team. And
they're 4-0 for only the third time in their history. Falcons 30, Panthers
28.
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