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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Atlanta's latest victory is more likely
to end up in the football follies than a highlight reel.
|  | | Panthers running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka fumbled the ball away on the final drive, symbolic of how things went in Atlanta's victory Sunday. |
The Falcons, who had just one takeaway in their first two games,
had two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and an unusual safety
in a 15-10 victory over Carolina on Sunday.
The Falcons (2-1) weren't perfect either, losing two of three
fumbles and missing two field goals while failing to capitalize on
most of Carolina's miscues.
"Do you think this will be on the bloopers reel?" asked
Atlanta running back Jamal Anderson, who was part of one of the
strangest blunders in the game.
With the Falcons trying to run out the clock with just over two
minutes to play, Anderson broke free for a 42-yard run up the left
sideline. As he closed in on the end zone, Doug Evans knocked the
ball out of his hands, recovered it and stepped into the end zone
before rolling out.
The officials called it a safety, ruling that both of Evans'
feet came down inbounds before he entered the end zone. That gave
the Falcons a 15-10 lead with 2:12 to play.
The Panthers (1-2) challenged the ruling, and replays showed
Evans' second foot landed on the goal line. But the ruling stood
based on the perception that momentum carried Evans into the end
zone.
"When you gain possession of the football, with two feet
inbounds, there's no momentum on a fumble, there is on an
interception," referee Larry Nemmers said. "That means the
Carolina player carried the ball into the end zone on his own
accord, and then of course it's a safety."
Evans said he didn't know exactly what the rule was when he ran
into the end zone.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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This may have been a statement game by Atlanta. The Falcons defense was maligned last week in a lopsided loss to Denver, but the D stepped up this week.
The Falcons created turnovers, generated a good pash rush on Steve Beuerlein to put him under the gun, and produced just enough offense to eke out a win on the road. The Falcons have not been a good team on the road, having lost eight of their last nine. But after the game last week in Denver, you could see that coach Dan Reeves had them prepared for this game.
The Panthers didn't play poorly but couldn't get their offense in gear as they did last week against the 49ers. Carolina's offense looked unstoppable last week, but this week the Falcons defense was able to keep enough pressure on the quarterback to get the job done.
Atlanta and Carolina both need to stay close to the Rams in the NFC West, if they can. With the way the Rams can score points, they should win a lot of games.
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"I knew I was close to the end zone and I thought if I went in
it would have come out to the 20," he said. "It was a heads-up
play that turned into a bonehead play."
Anderson said he was just as surprised as the Panthers were when
it was ruled a safety.
"Remember those `You make the call' commercials? I always got
it wrong then, too," he said.
Atlanta fielded Carolina's free kick and ran out the clock for
the victory, ruining Carolina's bid to move over the .500 mark for
the first time since 1997.
"For whatever reason we haven't been able to quite get over the
.500 hump, I'm just as befuddled as everybody," Carolina coach
George Seifert said.
Two minutes earlier, Ashley Ambrose returned Steve Beuerlein's
interception 37 yards to set up Morten Andersen's second field goal
of the game, a 27-yarder that sealed the victory.
The Panthers turned the ball over for the fourth time on the
following possession when Ronnie Bradford stripped Tshimanga
Biakabutuka after a 37-yard gain on a pass from Beuerlein.
In the first quarter, Atlanta's Travis Hall blocked Richie
Cunningham's 25-yard field-goal attempt. The Falcons were forced to
punt, but the ball bounced off the back of Carolina's Jimmy
Hitchcock and Atlanta recovered on the Panthers' 33.
In the third quarter, Carolina punter Ken Walters was partly
responsible for two more miscues. His punt with 13:34 was blocked
by Elijah Williams.
Two possessions later, he mishandled the snap on Cunningham's
field-goal attempt and unsuccessfully tried to throw the ball for
the first down.
"We certainly helped them with the numerous turnovers and
miscues that we had," Seifert said. "We had probably one of the
better efforts from our defense throughout the ballgame, but the
other facets of our game kept coming unglued."
Atlanta failed to convert on any of Carolina's kicking mistakes,
though, as Andersen missed field goals of 50 and 47 yards after the
botched punts.
Carolina tied it at 10 when Beuerlein hit Muhsin Muhammad with a
9-yard TD pass 15 seconds before halftime. But the Panthers failed
to generate any more offense in the second half and finished with
just 59 yards rushing, 284 total yards.
Anderson, who had a 26-yard touchdown run in the second quarter,
accounted for most of Atlanta's offense with 97 yards on 22
carries. The Falcons had 262 yards total offense.
Game notes
Carolina is 1-5 in home openers, including 1-2 vs. Atlanta.
... Terance Mathis had five catches for 42 yards to become
Atlanta's career receiving leader with 6,262 yards. He passed
Alfred Jenkins' record of 6,257 yards. ... Carolina defensive end
Reggie White, the NFL's career sacks leader, had one sack to raise
his total to 194. ... Atlanta defensive end Chuck Wiley, who had no
sacks last year in 16 games as a starter for Carolina, had two
against the Panthers. He was also flagged for a 15-yard
unsportsmanlike penalty for hitting Beuerlein in the helmet.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Carolina Clubhouse
Week 3 wrap-ups
Week 3 infirmary report
TJ's Take on Week 3
Week 3 stats leaders
Prime Time Players
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