Falcons quoteboard after the 30-20 loss to the Panthers

CHARLOTTE — Here’s what the Falcons were saying after the game:

“They were much better than us today. 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.)”

Falcons coach Mike Smith on the game

“We misfit some runs. We lost some leverage and we missed tackles. When you do that, you’re going to give the number of yards and points that we gave up. Again, it was not up to our standards whatsoever. They were definitely the better team today. My hat is off to them.”

Smith on the run defense, which gave up 195 yards rushing, four yards shy of the season-high 199 they gave up to the Panthers on Sept. 30.

“Not at all, I thought we had a very good week of practice. On Tuesday we came back and had a Falcons on Falcons day and then we started our game planning on Wednesday. I thought we had very good practices. They played well and we didn’t play up to our standards. Again, my hat is off to them. That’s a good football team. We had a good battle over there in Atlanta and they were definitely better today.”

Smith on if the Falcons came out flat against the Panthers.

“We just have to work hard. We have an opportunity to play against a great team coming in. The Super Bowl champs. We’ll just work harder. We’ll learn from the mistakes. We’ll go in tomorrow, watch it and try to learn from it. We made a lot of mistakes. It was uncharacteristic of us, but ultimately we just have to move on.”

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon on the game

“There are a lot of men in this locker room. He didn’t have to say anything to get the guys going. We know how to win. We know how to play ball. Ultimately, when it comes do it, we have to bounce back.”

Weatherspoon on what Smith said to the team after the game.

“They just made more plays that us. We didn’t make enough plays. We have to execute better. It was more about us not tackling and making plays.”

Cornerback Robert McClain on the game

“We are going to keep fighting. We get paid to play football. We’re going to keep fighting. We are going to learn from this. We are going to get better. We have a pretty good football team coming in next week.”

Center Todd McClure on rebounding

“It took a little while. We didn’t really find a rhythm there until the second half. They stayed on the field and we didn’t. It’s hard to get in a rhythm when you’re not out there. We didn’t start the way we wanted to. We started slow. They played hard. They were the better team today.”

McClure on the offense’s play against the Panthers.

“It’s a tough scheme to stop. We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and do a good job. We had some spurts where we were OK in the second half. But, for the most part, we have to do a better job across the board.”

Defensive tackle Corey Peters on the Panthers

“He’s a big strong guy. I could only get one hand on him. My job, I failed on that play. Whenever I get my hands on the quarterback I need to get him down. That’s on me. That’s my failure.”

Peters on his near sack against Cam Newton

LATEST NEWS

Cornerback Asante Samuel, safety William Moore are questionable for Panthers

Falcons at Panthers: 3 key matchups

Q&A with Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who’s closing in on his first 1,000-yard season

Falcons amused by tough talk from Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy

Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter not worried about dip in Matt Ryan’s numbers

OTHER RECENT NEWS

Falcons avenge their only loss to improve to 11-1

Turner becomes franchise’s all-time leading touchdown leader

Falcons quoteboard: What they were saying after the game

Defense ends Drew Brees streak of 54 games with a touchdown pass

Video: Ledbetter discusses 23-13 win over the Saints