Falcons vs. Panthers recap: Vaulting the Panthers and the past

When did your eye start twitching? When did your heart pick up the pace? When did you start thinking “oh man, here we go again?”

The Atlanta Falcons have made us into nervous football fans over the years, and even if your doubts only cropped up for a fleeting moment, I have little doubt that they appeared in unwelcome fashion when the Falcons went down early, allowed that last minute touchdown drive to the Panthers in the first half, or at some other point. The Falcons have dropped too many of these games—the ones that should be laughers against bad teams like Carolina—to not spark worry.

And for a half and perhaps a little longer, the Falcons appeared on the cusp of stumbling. They let the Panthers get out to an early lead, allowed that touchdown to cut their own lead to 22-14 heading into the half, and let Carolina’s limited cast of playmakers feast for stretches. In years past, those cascading small mistakes would have doomed them.

In 2024, though, this game served as a welcome reminder that those frustrations can be momentary ones and the larger concerns don’t automatically equal losses. Despite some genuinely bad stretches of football, the Falcons won this game by 18 points and could have added more had Clark Phillips not made a Raheem Morris-applauded decision to cut his pick-six in the game’s waning moments short so Atlanta could kneel it out and cut Carolina’s .01% chance of a comeback down to zero percent. They scored 38 points, allowed just six points in the second half, and took full advantage of a depleted Carolina defense to run for over 200 yards. After two incredibly discouraging losses to Carolina in 2022 and 2023, the Falcons ground them to dust by the end of this one.

In doing so, the Falcons did more than overcome the Panthers, though their 3-0 divisional record and perch atop the NFC South is of course of the utmost importance. The Falcons overcame a recent past that has seen them fall victim to letdowns against bad teams, especially after big, emotional wins. The Falcons have now strung together three wins in a row, all against the NFC South, and dispatched each one with clutch plays and big second half stops. There are enough what ifs here to keep you up at night if you’re inclined to nerves, but those should be gradually fading as the wins stack up. Atlanta is putting its chronic troubles and sordid history behind them, and while it’s never going to be a clean break, the winning football and resilience are doing much to make us believe that this team might just be a little different.

They’ll continue to take each new challenge one week at a time, and we’re still waiting for a game where the run defense holds up and both phases of the offense play well for four quarters. The fact that the Falcons are 4-2 without all of that happening bodes well, and with another big NFC matchup looming against the Seattle Seahawks, there’s another chance to earn a conference win and pull everything together. In the meantime, we get to enjoy the wins and the progress, both of which grow a little sweeter by the week.

On to the full recap.

The Good

• This was not the surgical Kirk Cousins of Week 5 against Tampa Bay; indeed, some of his early passes were so syrupy slow that they gave Carolina defenders a real chance to pick them off. Cousins still kept this offense out of trouble and moving along on time, spreading the ball around while avoiding turnovers and finishing with a clean 225 yards on 30 attempts with a touchdown. There are very few permanent breakthroughs in the NFL, and Cousins is not going to put up 400-500 yard games weekly. If he can limit mistakes, be crisp, and utilize his playmakers, the Falcons are not going to struggle to put up points, and they did not against the Panthers.
• It took a little time for the Falcons to lean on the run—they had just one six yard Bijan Robinson on their abbreviated first drive—but once they did the yards started piling up. Tyler Allgeier picked up a pair of first downs on Atlanta’s second drive and then Bijan powered it in to cap things off for a touchdown. Bijan then punched in a second touchdown thanks to a nice Jake Matthews block, and he had his best day on the ground by a country mile against Carolina’s decimated front. The duo combined for 210 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, powering Atlanta to victory despite their many hiccups in other phases of the game. It was arguably the best game of the season for both backs as runners, and hopefully a sign of things to come with a weak Seattle defense on deck.
• Drake London is a player Kirk Cousins trusts, and with good reason. He was a force over the middle in this one, reeling in Cousins’ sole passing touchdown of the game and catching seven balls for 88 yards overall, many of them with additional degrees of difficulty owing to nearby defenders and extra yardage. He’s having the season his talent suggested he could have with better quarterbacking.
• On a day where Darnell Mooney (3 for 38) and Ray-Ray McCloud (3 for 30) had quality plays but were a little quieter, Cousins found Kyle Pitts as his big play author. Pitts had a much-criticized play in the end zone we’ll talk about later, but he also had a 52 yard grab and a couple of clutch catches, finishing the day with three receptions for 70 yards. After his ugly goose egg against the Saints, Pitts has flourished, putting up a combined 10 receptions and 158 yards over the past two weeks.
• The line continues to do underrated work. Even acknowledging the injured state of the Carolina front, Atlanta managed to not allow a single sack for Cousins (aided by Cousins getting rid of the ball, we should add) and paved the way for that great game on the ground by Bijan and Allgeier. Even without all-world run blocker Drew Dalman at center, the Falcons are holding up extremely well, and this run should get Ryan Neuzil re-signed in Atlanta.
• On yet another quiet day for the pass rush, Grady Jarrett was the closest thing Atlanta had to a consistently disruptive presence, and he was pretty damn close. Jarrett made multiple impressive run stops, beat overmatched Carolina offensive linemen, and forced Dalton off schedule. The Falcons really need vintage Jarrett to unlock their potential up front, and this looked intriguingly close, matchup acknowledged.
• A.J. Terrell hasn’t had an interception in a long time, and he’s come close to it a couple of times in recent weeks. He finally got one against the Panthers and at an opportune time, stopping a fourth quarter Carolina drive cold when he simply got in front of a ball over the middle and reeled it in. Paired with a couple of nice run stops, Terrell did a lot to erase the early game grumbling about his performance, which we’ll talk about later.
• Clark Phillips didn’t just make an excellent, heads-up play on his interception, reading Andy Dalton and jumping the route. He also made a play Raheem Morris praised, electing to slide down short of a touchdown on a play I’m sure he badly wanted to be a pick-six. The reason Morris praised that? Because instead of giving Carolina the tiniest sliver of a chance for a comeback and setting up a final drive where Atlanta could have ostensibly suffered a late, unwelcome injury, the Falcons were able to kneel it out and remove all doubt. The outcome would likely have been very much the same with a larger point differential had Phillips scored, but a team-first decision like that will only earn Phillips more trust from the coaching staff.
• Zach Harrison blew in to a punt attempt in the second quarter to partially block it, ensuring it fluttered to about midfield, and then Clark Phillips returned it 10-plus yards. That’s the kind of big special teams play the Falcons want to make every week, and it was authored by a pair of young, capable defenders who happen to be major special teams contributors. That’s fun to see. Harrison needs more opportunities on defense, given his evident talent.
• I really loved the decision to go for two when the Falcons were up 13-10 and a Carolina penalty gave them a shot at doing so closer to the goal line. The opportunity to turn a shorter-than-normal extra point attempt into two points with a good offensive line matched up against a flagging Panthers defense was a good one, and Atlanta should be aggressive with those opportunities. Kudos to Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson for making it happen.
• Atlanta’s ability to continuously limit the damage in second halves is becoming a noticeable trend and a testament to their ability to adjust in-game. After Weeks 1 and 2, where they allowed nine points in each half to the Steelers and 14 points to the Eagles in the second half after holding them to seven in the first, the Falcons have allowed fewer points in the second half than the first half for a month straight. That includes back-to-back efforts where they allowed multiple scores in the first half and just six points in the second half, which helped them slip by the Buccaneers in overtime and down the Panthers.
• Let’s talk milestones for a moment. The first three game winning streak since 2019, the first 4-2 record since 2016, a 3-0 divisional mark, and a 4-0 mark against the NFC are not things we’re used to seeing from Atlanta, and it has put them in an excellent position in their division and in the NFC. A win against Seattle next week would put them in an even better position to have tiebreakers over the roster of would-be NFC playoff teams, and the sky’s the limit if they can keep chaining those victories together.

The Ugly

• The A.J. Terrell debate continues after a rough start to this one. The Falcons’ top cornerback has been quietly strong throughout the year with a few hiccups, but he was a victim multiple times on the second Panthers drive that ended in a touchdown, most notably in the end zone working against Diontae Johnson. He would break through late to erase some of those doubts, but there are many difficult matchups against top receivers to come, and Terrell will need to be more consistent to quiet the criticism. I fully expect that to happen, for what it’s worth.
• Ray-Ray McCloud makes so many big plays, but he mixes those in with some truly baffling decisions. In the second quarter, he dove despite being past the first down marker and it was ruled a fumble after a challenge, resulting in a Carolina recovery. He had snatched a deflected pass out of the air for a first down earlier, but that goodwill was erased by that play, even if the call was a questionable one. McCloud has been a positive contributor and a great addition overall, but I hope this is the last time we see one of these kinds of split-second poor decisions.
• Mark Sanchez’s disgust on the broadcast was tangible in the late third quarter when Kirk Cousins threw it up into the back of the end zone under pressure, with his fire focused on Kyle Pitts. I’m fairly certain the ball was A) not where Pitts expected it and B) not catchable, so while a superlative effort would have been appreciated, this appeared to be more of a case of Pitts’ reputation leading to analysts expecting the absolute worst of him than some unforgivable sin from him. That’s an ugly thing for Pitts, a player who is really starting to make his mark in this offense, but I don’t think it was a particularly fair bit of criticism.
• Lorenzo Carter has just not played particularly well this year after being one of the defense’s most reliable players in recent seasons, and he had perhaps his single most aggravating play of the season against Carolina. With the Panthers driving and Dalton looking like a sitting duck in the pocket against a rushing Carter, he went too high and rolled off the quarterback’s shoulders, allowing Dalton to escape and pick up 14 yards to keep the drive alive and set up a Panthers score. It was just one of many failures on that drive, but it was a visible one from a player who just hasn’t added enough for this defense.
• The smaller errors keep piling up for Atlanta. Whether it’s a penalty at an inopportune time, Mooney jumping for a ball he doesn’t need to jump for and turning a surefire touchdown into a first down, Cousins hanging on to the ball a little too long and nearly forcing a turnover,or most notably Carter missing a surefire sack, the way the Falcons turn productive plays into less productive ones continues to limit their considerable upside. In this one, that turned what could have been a stress-free afternoon into one that was more stressful than it needed to be. These mistakes will happen to every team; there’s still a need to cut down the sheer incidence.
• We knew what the Panthers wanted to do. They had to throw it to Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette and run it with Chuba Hubbard, and the Falcons had to put the brakes on those three options. Disturbingly, they struggled to do so, which led to this game being an agonizing watch. Hubbard routinely broke tackles and got one nice block from a banged up Panthers offensive line to pick up chunk yardage, Johnson was hyper-productive, and Legette made some nice catches, all aided by a lack of consistent pressure on Andy Dalton that allowed him the time and space to make those throws. The performance of the run defense was particularly discouraging yet again, with Hubbard averaging over five yards per carry and routinely meeting little resistance from defenders being blocked by Carolina’s second or third string linemen. It’s fair to say that as Falcons figure things out on offense, do solid work as a pass defense, and start grabbing turnovers, the lack of pass rush and the shaky state of the run defense loom as the team’s major weaknesses.

The Wrapup

Game MVP

It’s not a single person, so maybe it feels like cheating, but the run game was the MVP of this one. With three touchdowns and over 200 yards, Tyler Allgeier, Bijan Robinson, the offensive line, and Zac Robinson made some beautiful, winning music for this Falcons team.

One Takeaway

The Falcons can win games in all sorts of ways against all sorts of teams, and that kind of variability and adaptability is a big deal in a long season.

Next Week

The Falcons return home to play the scuffling Seattle Seahawks, a talented team that can easily get into a shootout with Atlanta, but hasn’t been great of late. Check out Field Gulls for more.

Final Word

Anotherqualitywin.