Carolina Panthers fall to Falcons 24-10, drop to 6-9 on season
It was another rough Sunday for the Panthers.
Another Sunday, another loss for the Carolina Panthers. After starting the season with a 6-2 record, the Panthers extended their losing streak to five games with a 24-10 defeat at the talons of the Atlanta Falcons as Taylor Heinicke made his season debut on Sunday.
The Panthers would score 1st. At the 6:57 mark of the first quarter, Ian Thomas was on the receiving end of a one-yard pass from the arm of Heinicke. That gave the Panthers an early 7-0 advantage following an extra point try from Chandler Catanzaro. However, the Falcons would get their scoring day started with 38 seconds left in the first frame. Julio Jones grabbed a one-yard pass from the arm of Matt Ryan to make it a 7-7 game. The touchdown reception on the part of Jones concluded a six-play, 59-yard drive that took a little over 2:09 off the clock.
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The second frame was more of the same. Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 50-yard field goal to give the Panthers a 10-7 lead. That ended a nine-play, 48-yard drive that took a little over five minutes. Atlanta would answer with a field goal of their own however. Matt Bryant booted one through the uprights from 39 yards out at the 5:31 mark of the quarter to tie the game at 10. As the teams headed into the locker room for halftime, the Panthers appeared to be right in the middle of this game, and a chance at winning was looking good.
However, things fell apart in the third quarter. It began at 14:51 mark of the quarter. Rookie Calvin Ridley continued his impressive season catching a 75-yard pass from Ryan to make it a 17-10 game in favor of the Falcons. They were not done however as the final score for either side came at the 4:51 mark in the quarter. This time, it was Mohammed Sanu catching a 44-yard pass from the arm of Ryan to officially seal the deal. The fourth quarter gave way to defense as the Panthers did a nice job of stopping the bleeding for the quarter. Nevertheless, Heinicke could not get the job done offensively in the waning moments, putting a minor blemish on what was otherwise a hard-fought game. This game would end 24-17 in favor of the Falcons.
Heinicke finished the game going 33-of-53 passing for 274 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions. Christian McCaffrey had another great day on the ground, carrying the ball 21 times for 101 yards. A 13-yard run was his longest of the afternoon. He was also the team’s leading receiver with 12 catches for 77 yards. Defensively, Luke Kuechly led the way with six tackles
The Panthers will take on the New Orleans Saints next Sunday in the season finale. Kickoff time is set for 1:00 p.m. Maybe the Panthers can pull off the upset and end the season on a high note.