At the end of a 3:26 drive featuring two runs of more than 15 yards by rookie Ito Smith, the Falcons capped off 21 unanswered points with a Matt Ryan rushing touchdown to go head 24-14. It was a demoralizing drive where the Falcons looked to have kept the momentum throughout halftime and were ready to bang nails into the Panthers coffin. Everything was going wrong. The defense was getting gashed and the offense sputtered into the fourth quarter. Even when Cam Newton engineered a five minute drive that ended with a missile of a pass and a great catch by Torrey Smith to pull within seven points, the Falcons immediately charged down the field to pull back ahead by two touchdowns.
Panthers Loss Doesn't Come Without a Fight
