CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Falcons hit the road this week determined to correct the mistakes that plagued them in their first division game.
Unfortunately Sunday's 24-9 loss to the Carolina Panthers included some eerie -- and frustrating -- similarities to a Week 2 defeat at Tampa Bay.
The Falcons (2-2, 0-2) found a way to stick around for three quarters in Sunday's game at Bank of America Stadium but injuries, dropped passes and untimely penalties filled the afternoon. Atlanta lost starting strong safety Lawyer Milloy in the first half after he took a shot to the ribs and played the entire game without starting left tackle Sam Baker.
Holding calls extended the field on offense while six dropped passes kept the team from picking up momentum. The Falcons finished the day 2-of-13 on third down.
"Physical mistakes are going to happen in games and there’s nothing you can do," quarterback Matt Ryan said. "The guys continued to battle, did a great job, ran hard and caught the ball. We were more physical on the outside today and that’s just the way it goes sometime. I think we’ve got a great group of receivers that are talented and can make a lot of plays."
"... It’s just the flow of the game," added wide receiver Roddy White. "You want to make that play so bad, you want to help the offense out, you want to get us back rolling, then you forget to look the ball in or you do something else small. But little things like that are correctable."
Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme finished the day 20-of-29 for 294 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He worked heavily against Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes with wide receiver Mushin Muhammad (eight catches for 147 yards and a score). Later in the game Delhomme worked the middle of the field attacking safeties Erik Coleman and Jamaal Fudge, who replaced Milloy.
Wide receiver Steve Smith, in his second game back after a two-game suspension ran through the Falcons secondary to get open on a 56-yard touchdown play.
"We were not very good," Head Coach Mike Smith said. "I think we were 2-of-13 on third downs. Any time you are not converting on third down, you are going to put your defense back out there on the field, and your offense is going back over to the sidelines. I think it’s very important that we get better in our third down efficiency."
The Panthers (3-1, 1-0) lost starting offensive tackles Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah in the game to injury and also went several series without starting cornerback Ken Lucas. But that didn't stop the NFC South leaders from imposing their will on both sides of the ball and put up more than 400 yards of total offense.
The Falcons defense did not record a sack in the game.
"We did not have any sacks this week," Smith said. "That’s something we have to make sure to do. Quarterbacks in this league, if they get comfortable back there, they are going to make their throws."
Atlanta got the ball to start and escaped a game-changing play from the Panthers defense. Ryan's first pass attempt was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Richard Marshall but the play was reversed after a roughing the passer call on defensive end Julius Peppers. Another personal foul penalty helped the Falcons move into Panthers territory but the team would be forced to punt.
The Panthers answered with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by rookie Jonathan Stewart.
Unlike two weeks ago in Tampa, the Falcons clawed back earlier in the game. The Birds didn't convert a third down in the first half, but a no-huddle offense kept the Panthers off balance enough to create scoring opportunities.
Unfortunately those scores came from the foot of Jason Elam. The Falcons stalled in the red zone as league rushing leader Michael Turner was held to 56 yards on the ground.
The veteran kicker connected on field goals of 33, 44 and 44 yards in the opening half to keep it a one-score game into the third quarter. The Panthers responded, however, with two scores in the second half -- a field goal and the game-clinching touchdown pass to Muhammad.
"Well, obviously as an offense you’d like to score touchdowns every time you get in the red zone and we didn’t do that today," Ryan said. "Again, it just comes down to execution. I thought we had a good tight game plan in the red zone. We just need to make some more plays when we’re down there."
But this NFC South grudge match did not come without bright spots for the Birds.
The Falcons were benefactors of strong special teams play throughout the game and got select strikes on offense. Defensive end John Abraham got the first blocked punt of his career. That set up a field goal, as did a 40-yard run by Jerious Norwood near the end of the second quarter.
Atlanta rushed for 118 yards and got seven-catch, 90-yard game from White.
"It’s disappointing because we lost but we are still confident," Abraham said. "We are still playing well and we had a chance to win at the end of the game. That’s the best thing to say right now about a game like this because we had a chance to win, it wasn’t like we got blown out. There was always a chance that we could’ve won."
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-PANTHERS GAME:
- GAME RECAP: Falcons "drop" division game in Charlotte
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes from the Bank of America Stadium press box
- POSTGAME QUOTES: Smith | Falcons | Panthers
- GAME BLOG: Follow live updates from the press box
- GAME CENTER: News, stats and play-by-play from NFL.com
- FOLLOW THE BIRDS: On Twitter | Flickr
- INACTIVES: Gameday inactives and starters
- BOARDS: Talk about the team with other fans on FalconsLIFE
- J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: News and commentary from the Managing Editor
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Matt Ryan
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
