Panthers hold on to defeat Falcons, 30-20
CHARLOTTE – Splat!
That was the sound of the NFC South champion Falcons falling flat on their faces against the last-place Carolina Panthers Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers, behind a strong showing from quarterback Cam Newton, defeated the Falcons 30-20 and slowed down Atlanta’s march to claiming the NFC’s top seed.
The Panthers jumped out to a 23-0 early third quarter lead and held on to improve to 4-9, while the Falcons slipped to 11-2.
“They were much better than us today,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “They beat us in all three phases. We couldn’t sustain drives on third down offensively. We couldn’t even come close to getting them off the field on third downs (defensively).”
The Falcons needed a win and bizarre trifecta of other losses to claim the top seed for the playoffs, which comes with a bye and home-field advantage throughout.
Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton (1) throws a pass as Atlanta Falcons' Sean Weatherspoon (56) defends during the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
The Falcons are still ahead of San Francisco (9-3-1) and Green Bay (8-4, before playing Detroit on Sunday night). They have a 1 ½ lead over the 49ers with three games to play.
The Falcons want to put this stinker of game behind them quickly.
“It better be a bump in the road if we are the team we think we are,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said.
In recent years, the hottest team in December has gone on to enjoy post-season success.
The Falcons have been eliminated in their first game of the playoffs in three of the past four season.
They wanted to start the fourth-quarter of the regular-season by building some momentum into the playoffs.
With the New York Giants up next, they could end up stumbling into the playoffs.
“I can hear them right now,” Gonzalez said. “They are getting off the band wagon. They are jumping off.
“From looking at our history, a lot of people are going to say, ‘see I told you.’ But we are a good football team. There is no doubt about it. We are going to play better. …We are going to be back to playing the way we have been playing.”
Newton, of Fulton County’s Westlake High and Auburn, completed 23 of 35 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He had a passer rating of 110.1. Newton also rushed nine times for 116 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown.
“You’ve got to take your hat off to him,” Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. “It was his day.”
There was a lot of talk before the game from the Panthers.
They said they were disrespected by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who was seen on Fox television cameras telling the Panthers to “get the (bleep) off our field” after the Falcons pulled out a 30-28 win on Sept. 30 at the Georgia Dome.
Carolina defensive end Greg Hardy also said the Panthers were better than the Falcons. The Falcons seemed amused by all of the chatter.
“They’ve been fired up all week,” Gonzalez said. “We heard it all week and they came out and got after us.”
Carolina jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead.
Here last season, the Falcons were down by 16 at the half, but rallied to win.
Not this time.
Newton broke loose on a read-option run and scampered 72 yards. Graham Gano’s extra point made it 23-0 with 11:01 left in the third quarter.
The Falcons came back with two touchdowns, but after Roddy White’s two-point conversion catch was ruled incomplete, the rally died.
The Panthers answered when DeAngelo Williams scored from 53 yards out on a screen pass to make it 30-13 with 4:11 to play
The Falcons added a 1-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner for the final 30-20 margin.
“I like the way we responded in the second half if you’re looking for the silver lining,” Gonzalez said.
The Falcons had not played since beating New Orleans 23-13 on Nov. 29.
“I’m a little disappointed with the way we came out,” Gonzalez said. “There is no excuse for that.”
Smith felt the team had a good week of practice and made no excuses for them coming out flat against a feisty Carolina squad.
“They played well and we didn’t play up to our standard,” Smith said.
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186 comments Add your comment
Angrybird!!
December 9th, 2012
5:55 pm
#smittyball #dblock.. Lmaohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPxq4hNhwB0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Oh My
December 9th, 2012
5:56 pm
Reason #1 I don’t subscribe to your liberal view.
The Fan
December 9th, 2012
6:00 pm
Enjoy watching the playoffs from your living room Steve Smith
Angrybird!!
December 9th, 2012
6:00 pm
Its non entertaining entertainment we invest time emotions and money into.. 11-2 should mean something to us but it doesn’t.. I can only speak for myself.. 4 years of this regime and counting.. 25+ years a fan of mediocrity sports in this city.. Hmmm
robh
December 9th, 2012
6:01 pm
Look out for the collapse- not peaking at the right time. shamed by a hapless north carolina squad that just lost to KC. ….and here come GMen…that falcons could not muster a touchdown againt in playoffs…
Not sure you want the home field to just embaress yourself again on National TV…
vesaversa
December 9th, 2012
6:17 pm
How tall is Matt Ryan again ? The man look as if he trying to throw over trees back there he can’t see the field properly like the bigger faster QB’s coming out of college these days . At 6/5 Cam Looked so comfortable at his position Ryan not so much . The Falcons should be thinking about drafting a QB . And Smith should be fired .
Dave
December 9th, 2012
6:19 pm
I agree the falcons need to rethink their play book on both sides of the ball, but all you camo (
fans (as doesn’t show up often) need to remember even if you win the rest of your games you still won’t have a winning season! Losers is what you are – losers.
harleyman
December 9th, 2012
6:19 pm
Keeping the faith, but the glaring lack of a running game and no pass rush needs to be fixed.
papadawg
December 9th, 2012
6:31 pm
Face it, the Falcons are in serious trouble. Offense and Defense
The Fan
December 9th, 2012
6:34 pm
The good news is that Carolina won’t be in the playoffs
SOS Falcons
December 9th, 2012
6:34 pm
Smith = Bobby Cox. Turner should never touch the football again for the Falcons.
okeetee
December 9th, 2012
6:36 pm
“The Falcons should be thinking about drafting a QB . And Smith should be fired”
……you obviously smoke some powerful dope….because you are a dope! We are 11-2. We will in all probability end up 13-3. We will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. We have been in the playoffs 3 years in a row. We have had 5 winning seasons in a row. You want us to fire the coach and dump our quarterback???
one and done
December 9th, 2012
6:44 pm
Mark it down. Falcons one and done in the playoffs. Not a good defensive team.
FalconFan in NC
December 9th, 2012
6:52 pm
I can’t remember watching a more poorly called (game plan) game as this one today. I’m pretty sure the the word retarded fits the bill, as a description of our offensive coordinator. This dumb*ss needs to find another line of work. The Double R – Double P (run, run, pass, punt) offensive just doesn’t work. Lose Turner and all the lip-beating DB’s who think that after they tackle someone, they should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Sit the f**k down and shut up! It’s one thing to get beat by a better team, but to lose with arrogance is disgraceful. To Matt, don’t listen to King Idiot up in the booth, please call whatever play you believe will work and for God’s sake, throw the ball to Gonzalez more than five or six times per game. Go Falcons!!!!!!!
Pete Van Weird
December 9th, 2012
6:53 pm
…this was a gambler’s game. this was all about las vegas
FanSinceBartkowski
December 9th, 2012
6:53 pm
Those who want to fire Smith haven’t been fans too long. Remember the firing of Leeman Bennett because the team had “plateaued”? The years that followed: 7-9, 4-12, 4-12, 7-8-1, 3-12, 5-11, 3-13, 5-11 and then finally, 9 years later, a winning record 10-6. It took Coach Reeves almost 7 seasons to get the franchise record for wins that Smith just broke in 4+. Having said that, the team was not prepared today. Ryan is working through the worst slump of his career. Coaches have to figure out a way to right the ship and as I type, their next opponent just scored their 42nd point even if they’re only playing the Aints.
Esquire
December 9th, 2012
6:54 pm
5-6-7-8
Everywhere we goooO,
Everywhere we goooO,
People wanna knooOw,
People wanna knooOw,
Who we aaa are,
Who we aaa are,
So we tell theem, So we tell theem,
We are the FALCONS!! We are the FALCONS!!
MIGHTY MIGHTY FALCONS, MIGHTY MIGHTY FALCONS !!
OHH AHH OHH YEEAHH
WE ARE THE MIGHTY MIGHTY FALCONS!!!!
HOW ‘BOUT THEM CAINTS?????? HA HA HA HA HA HA
MTSeats
December 9th, 2012
6:54 pm
Ryan needs a clean pocket, but, we have 5pick.
Rupe in DC
December 9th, 2012
7:03 pm
Unprepared coaches and players today. Very vanilla and unimaginative gameplan. With a chance to secure home field advantage throughout he playoffs, it was the time to be aggressive. Now they have to fight to make that happen.
Where is the killer instinct in he trenches on this team??
drew
December 9th, 2012
7:04 pm
I’m not buying the “Falcons didn’t care about this game; we’ve already got home field” argument. This team played today like it has all year..INCONSISTENTLY. I’ve watched every game, and they simply don’t pass the eyeball test. They might be 11-2 on paper, but their about 8-5 base on the ol’ eyeball. I guarantee you any playoff team out there would LOVE to draw the Falcons.
Yeah, at this point, the only thing that really matters is January. But this is the time of year when the contenders play their best ball and the pretenders wet their pants. And if this is the team that shows up, it’s one and done…again. We have no pass rush and we have no running game. Not a good recipe for winning in January.
And if we DO beat the Giants next week, you can bet your ass it’ll be a squeaker.
Makes No Sense
December 9th, 2012
7:09 pm
I know this is a favorite topic on Falcon’s message boards, but I would love to hear Mike Smith explain why Turner is still getting more carries than Rodgers. Over the last five games Rodgers has averaged over 5 yards a carry while Turner has averaged less than 3 yards per carry (that is even including Turner’s “breakout” game against the Aints last week where he averaged 7 yards per carry). On top of that, Rodgers is a much better receiver and can actually make defenders miss. Is Turner tenured? Does he have compromising photos of Mike Smith? Jeff, this should be the first question you and Mark ask at the press conference every week.
johnnycreek
December 9th, 2012
7:10 pm
Another game of zero defense, apathetic offense, and a total lack of physical intimidation. With this crowd dont look for any playoff wins. New stadium HAHAHAHA!
drew
December 9th, 2012
7:11 pm
Anybody calling for Mike Smith to be fired is a ignorant fool. Yeah…he can be too conservative at times, and sometimes his determination to run the ball borders on sheer stubbornness, but he’s also the most successful coach this franchise has ever seen. Just sayin’…
donedeal
December 9th, 2012
7:15 pm
mark this down—tbe falcons will upset sf and win the nfc! SF’s D will not be able to deal with matt, roddy and julio!!! Falcons v. new england for the title!!!
Isawthiscoming
December 9th, 2012
7:17 pm
All we need is one out of the last 3 games to own the playoffs. The Thugs (aints) and the gangsters (cats) will have to watch the TV if they want to see a playoff game.
Rupe in DC
December 9th, 2012
7:21 pm
Coach Smith recently stated that there will be no more padded practices with hitting this year. They have had 11 and can get in a total of 14. Well, from the looks of today’s non aggressive showing, they need to “man up” and take advantage of the 3 more allotted hitting sessions. They played and coached like a disinterested flag football team today!
ronnie tuner
December 9th, 2012
7:22 pm
every one get luky sometime i do
dilly
December 9th, 2012
7:24 pm
Don’t blame this loss entirely on the offense. The defense has some mighty big holes in the secondary and up the middle. John Abraham was held or double teamed on every play and the rest of the defense just seemed oblivious to what they were supposed to do. Matt is not the problem. The O line was not giving him enough time to even set up a lot of the time. I blame it on the offensive coordinator and his play calling. There were some calls on Carolina that should have been made and weren’t. Very badly managed and played game, not counting the refs bad calls in the 4th quarter.I hate to remind the Panthers, but I do believe we will be in the playoffs. This is just one game and I hope the Falcons have a very long memory when they play them next year. They are thugs, even their coach had to call them down.
Tdawg
December 9th, 2012
7:29 pm
I only watched the first half. I couldn’t stomach anymore. I don’t think Matt Ryan threw the ball further than 5 yards down field the entire first half and the vast majority of those were at the line of scrimmage or behind the line of scrimmage. What the hell is having Jones and White if your QB is to dang scared to throw the ball downfield? The O-Line is bad enough, but Mattie Not Ice is responsible for a good many of the sacks he takes. He takes way to much time to pass the ball. There is a young QB sitting on the bench that needs some practice. I think it’s time to give Matt a break and let this kid play. Just enough to give Matt a little rest mind you. Matt is looking kinda timid out there these days. I won’t even get started on that joke of a defense. Don’t have enough time to cover their incompetence. If there is such a thing as a sure thing, the Falcons will be out in first round.
falconfanriseup
December 9th, 2012
7:34 pm
Falcon fans calm down it’s one game we lost so what we are 11-2 still the best record we are going to be ok the Falcons are going to correct the mistakes and be in the Superbowl and win chill lol.
That was the playoffs for the Panthers.
Angrybird!!
December 9th, 2012
7:34 pm
Gmen sending us a message.. And the rest of the NFC.. Go Birds .. Show em all we belong on top.. Pullease!
Joe Fish
December 9th, 2012
7:37 pm
Why does Peria Jerry get pancaked every play and they still put him in there? Also, we need a Middle Linebacker besides Dent.
Bulldawg
December 9th, 2012
7:41 pm
To those who say it’s no big deal that the Falcons lost today, I say hogwash. The Panthers practically promised the Falcons a butt whipping today and the Falcons took it like they enjoyed it. I’ve never seen so much smirking and laughing by professional athletes while taking a pounding.
A real championship contender would have taken the Panther’s challenge and showed them why an 11-1 team is better than a 3-9 team. The Falcons are soft. They are not contenders and I’m tired of drinking the kool-aid. This team will be lucky if they get homefield for the playoffs and will be one and done again. The fans deserve better.
FanbeforeBartkowski
December 9th, 2012
7:42 pm
FanSinceBartkowski,
Nice post, but today was disgraceful. Its very difficult not to be cynical about this team. Do you honestly think they will beat the Giants, or Packers? They’re a good team, not a great team.
ed
December 9th, 2012
7:43 pm
They were awful today. I was there. It was embarassing. Almost as embarrasing as acting like you know something about the NFL and saying someone on an 11-2 staff that goes to the playoofs every year is going to get fired.
Wilson Pickett
December 9th, 2012
7:53 pm
Looked like the Falcons where just standing around waiting time to board for the plane trip home.
"E" from Riverdale
December 9th, 2012
7:58 pm
Really nothing more to add. It’s already been said. must ask this why did the Falcons resign Thomas Day-who-coo to another contract, this guy is a joje at free safety. The Falcons problems are they are just to non-disciplined on defense. If Day-who-coo had made his firts step a back pedal instead of running toward the line of scrimmage, thye TE would have never gotten behind him. Hell if him or D. Robinsn would locate and play the football instead of the man they might make some plays. Either way those are fundamental erros and should be corrected by coaching exspecially at this leve. Oh Bierman you got plated by slicing in on almost ever play. When you didpped in Cam went right the outside of you. Again this jus another sgn of a defense that is not iscipline nd does not play assignment football. To much one and one and jst out there doing what I want to do.
Jay Dubu
December 9th, 2012
7:58 pm
Giants scored 52 points on New Orleans today, so the Falcons had better get ready. Offense has to stay on the field, to help protect the defense.
Barry
December 9th, 2012
8:01 pm
We need to start shopping for some fast, explosive running backs and some big, nasty offensive lineman. The offensive play calling was passive, uncreative, and non-member explosive. We should have more offensive plays being used this time of year. We will continue to loss pin this time year if the offensive continues to play passive and with no sense of urgency on each play. Matt Ryan played scared and indecisive. He showed no leadership in this loss. I hope we fix all of this NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
terrell
December 9th, 2012
8:03 pm
Falcons look 1 and done again.
dickelsby
December 9th, 2012
8:08 pm
Wow !! such poppy-rot from so many of you,,,,Cam and the Boys could have beaten anyone in the first half with unbelievable precision passing and inspired running after they won their first coin-toss all season!!!…….I think a little roughin’ up for a few games is just what is needed before the big ones!!
Samuel
December 9th, 2012
8:08 pm
I don’t think Tony Gonzales needs to worry about what the fans or naysayers think. He’s a leader by example on this team, being said that, he needs to rally the troops in that locker room, including Matt Ryan and implore them to step their game up.
X Ryan
December 9th, 2012
8:08 pm
Since Brees has developed a noodle arm in his older age with 9 interceptions in last 3 games, I would be willing to trade Brees, Sproles, Graham, Lofton and Colston for Matty Ice and throw in Peyton too to help start up a bounty pool and bug the booth and he has connections with getting the Refs paid off. Please?
Samuel
December 9th, 2012
8:10 pm
The Falcons seem to always make it harder on themselves to reach their goals……
DR. FALCON
December 9th, 2012
8:31 pm
WE COULDN’T CONTAIN THE “BEAST”! OOH WELL, SH@#T HAPPENS! 14-2, AIN’T SO BAD! BRING ON THE GIANTS!
vesaversa
December 9th, 2012
9:00 pm
I luv the falcons. Superbowl bound. I own this division seen.
The Truth
December 9th, 2012
9:08 pm
Did you see/understand some of those ref’s calls?
CGD..
December 9th, 2012
10:30 pm
Vegas rates the 11-2 Falcons as the 7th best Team in the NFL= NOT A CONTENDER BY A LONG SHOT..
Looks like somebody got it right..
Go with Ryan and lose your shirt among other things.
Eli Manning
December 9th, 2012
10:46 pm
CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM NEWTON.
wow.
Why is Opie Taylor Wearing a Falcons Helmet?
December 9th, 2012
10:46 pm
X Ryan
December 9th, 2012
8:08 pm
Since Brees has developed a noodle arm in his older age with 9 interceptions in last 3 games, I would be willing to trade Brees, Sproles, Graham, Lofton and Colston for Matty Ice and throw in Peyton too to help start up a bounty pool and bug the booth and he has connections with getting the Refs paid off. Please?
_____________________________________________________________________________
X RYAN – I agree with you. Let’s trade for Brees, Sproles, Graham, Colston, and get Lofton back and give Opie to the AINTS. That will certainly bring us over the hump. MANAGEMENT MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!