NFL Week 14 - Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
Michael Turner ran for 3 touchdowns and the Atlanta Falcons maintained their hold on the top spot in the NFC with a 31-10 road win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at the Bank of America Stadium.
Turner finished with 112 yards on 28 carries. Roddy
White caught 8 passes for 79 yards and Atlanta overcame Carolina in the midst of a horrible season for the Panthers.
Atlanta’s quarterback, Matt Ryan completed 20 of 34 passes for 227 yards with one touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez. Turner scored on runs of 1, 3 and 4 yards. Atlanta survived a brief hiccup to start the 3rd quarter and
completed their 7th straight win to keep hold of the conference's top spot.
The Falcons (11-2) dominated the Panthers from the start; they scored touchdowns on the first two possessions and took a 17-0 halftime lead.
"It was huge for us," Coach Mike Smith said. "We said we wanted to start fast and finish fast. I thought we got the first part of it right."
Although there were a number of bright spots in this game for the Panthers, in the end they loss again in what has become a typical fashion for the team.
Jonathan Stewart lost a fumble on the game's first offensive snap. Though he recovered for a big game with 133 yards on 18 carries, it set Atlanta up for a quick TD and had everyone shaking their heads five minutes
into the game. It was absolutely the worst way, 1-11, a team could start.
Mike Goodson added 70 yards on the ground and a TD on 9 carries. Goodson once again showed good vision in picking his holes. He does still struggle in pass protection but he makes a good effort. He capped the five-play, 81-yard
drive with a 13-yard dash.
Charles Johnson had a sack, 3 QB Hurries, a tackle for loss and 4 combined tackles. He is playing with strength and influence and has become hard to handle for every RT lining up in front of him on passing downs.
Brandon LaFell had 6 receptions for 38 yards with a long of 17. He is stout in the running game and had some key blocks in the long runs.
Carolina totaled only 33 yards and 2 first downs through the 1st half, and then the Panthers got a 48 yard burst from Stewart and Mike Goodson's 13 yard TD run on an 81-yard drive to start the 3rd quarter
to get within 17-7.
Stewart rumbled for 42 yards for the next possession, but a frazzled Jimmy Clausen was sacked by Chauncey Davis on 4th down near midfield to end the drive.
The Falcons’ lead rose to 24-7 when Turner punched it in from 3 yards out with less than 5 minutes to play in the third. Matt Ryan completed 3 passes to White before Turner's twisting 3 yard TD run made it 24-7.
John Kasay kicked a 36-yard field goal for the Panthers early in the 4th quarter before Turner finished the scoring with a 4 yard run.
"We feel like we're a good football team, that's for sure," Ryan said, deflecting a question on where he ranks the Falcons. "We are a confident team, but at this point of the year it doesn't really matter."
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