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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- After one of the most trying weeks of his life,
Chris Chandler led the Atlanta Falcons to a rare victory Sunday.
|  | | Atlanta's Jamal Anderson ran for a touchdown and had another called back against Carolina. |
He wasn't even sure how it happened.
Chandler directed the game's only touchdown drive before Morten
Andersen kicked a 31-yard field goal with 2:53 remaining to give
the Falcons a 13-12 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Five days earlier, Chandler was at the bedside of father-in-law
John Brodie, a former NFL great stricken by a major stroke.
"It's been incredibly rough," Chandler said. "For the most
part, I was just trying to get by today and survive."
With the Falcons trailing 12-3 in the fourth quarter, Chandler
completed seven passes for 68 yards, including two 14-yarders
to Terance Mathis.
On third-and-goal, Jamal Anderson powered over from the 2 with
5:04 remaining to cut Carolina's lead to 12-10.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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This game was similar to the first game these teams played earlier in the
season.
In that game Atlanta stumbled to a mistake-filled 15-10 victory. This game
was also filled with mistakes made by both teams (seven turnovers overall).
A positive for the Falcons was their pass rush, which has not been good this
year. Today the Falcons managed four sacks of Steve Beuerlein.
Another good development for the Falcons was the strong showing by running
back Jamal Anderson (25
carries, 90 yards), who scored the only touchdown of the game.
Anderson looked better in this game than he has at any other time this
season. He was the main factor late in the game that enabled the Falcons to
come back for the win.
Defensively, Atlanta did a good job on the Carolina running game, limiting
the Panthers to just 30 yards on 20 attempts.
Overall, this was a less-than-stellar game for both teams. Neither team is a
factor right now in terms of the playoffs, but there's still a lot of
football to be played.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein, rattled by Atlanta's best
rush of the season, followed with the first of three straight
turnovers to set up Andersen's winning field goal.
Throwing from near his own end zone, Beuerlein missed the
intended receiver along the sideline. Ray Buchanan intercepted at
the 20 and returned to the 7.
The Falcons moved in reverse from there, but Andersen kicked his
second field goal to put Atlanta ahead for the first time.
"I don't remember much about the game," said Chandler, who was
19-of-29 for 191 yards with two interceptions. "It's nice to have
it end the way it did."
The game mirrored the first meeting between the NFC West rivals
in Week 3, when the Falcons stumbled to a mistake-filled, 15-10
victory at Carolina.
Atlanta (3-6) didn't win again until the rematch against the
Panthers, snapping a five-game losing streak that equaled the
team's longest since Dan Reeves became coach in 1997.
"It's one of the prettiest wins I've ever seen," Reeves said.
The Falcons had three turnovers and were penalized for 98 yards.
Beuerlein threw for 202 yards, but was intercepted three times and
got no help from the running game.
Carolina gained just 30 yards on 20 carries. Atlanta had been
allowing nearly 138 yards per game on the ground.
"That is about as brutal a loss as they come," coach George
Seifert said. "I can't imagine that it can get much tougher than
this."
The Panthers (3-5) lost not only the game, but Wesley Walls, a
four-time Pro Bowl tight end. He sprained his left knee on the
final play of the third quarter and was carried off the field on a
cart.
Seifert described the initial diagnosis as "dismal."
Joe Nedney kicked four field goals to give Carolina a seemingly
comfortable 12-3 lead with 12:40 to go. But Chandler and the
Falcons rebounded with a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.
After Andersen's field goal, Beuerlein lost the ball again on a
hit by Ed Jasper. Travis Hall fell on the fumble at the Carolina
21, jumping up immediately to present the ball to Jasper.
Typical of the day, the Falcons were called for holding while
Anderson was running 17 yards for an apparent touchdown. Then,
Andersen missed for the second time in the game, his 42-yard
hitting the upright.
It didn't matter. Beuerlein was sacked for the fourth time and
wound up heaving a desperation pass on the final play that was
intercepted at the 3 by Buchanan.
"Our defense did everything possible to give us the game,"
Panthers running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka said. "But the offense
didn't show up."
The tone was set when Carolina was penalized for an illegal
block on the opening kickoff.
On the first five plays from scrimmage, the Panthers picked up
two more penalties, while Atlanta cornerback Ashley Ambrose was
called for interference.
Carolina wound up keeping the ball for nearly eight minutes,
driving 71 yards in 16 plays to set up Nedney's first field goal, a
35-yarder.
Nedney also hit from 48 and 25 yards, while Andersen put up
Atlanta's first points with a 35-yarder in the final minute of the
opening quarter.
The Falcons squandered another scoring chance in the waning
seconds of the half. Reggie Kelly caught a pass at the Panthers 7
but was stripped of the ball while driving for the end zone.
Doug Evans recovered for a touchback, preserving Carolina's 6-3
lead at halftime. A distraught Kelly collapsed face-first on the
turf and remained there for nearly a minute.
Game notes
The Falcons swept the Panthers for the second time in three
years. ... Atlanta allowed the fewest rushing yards since the New
England Patriots gained 19 yards in 1998. ... Walls was scheduled
to undergo an MRI along with three teammates: offensive guard Bryan
Stoltenberg (left knee), Biakabutuka (right knee) and backup tight
end Kris Mangum (shoulder). ... Mathis had his 500th career catch
with the Falcons.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Carolina Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
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