After the Falcons had probably the worst defense in the NFL in 2014, the unit has played surprisingly well for much of the season to help the team stay in games as the offense sputtered.
That ended on Sunday at Carolina as the Falcons’ defense melted down from the start. The Panthers scored touchdowns on their four of five first-half possessions to take a 28-0 halftime lead and went on to win 38-0.
“That’s not us,” Falcons linebacker O’Brien Schofield said. “What we put out there, how we started the game, it’s not who we are as a football team. Personally I’m just a little bit embarrassed because we owe our head coach, we owe our coaches, we owe our organization, we owe our fans, we owe each other more than that.”
The Falcons had allowed as many as 28 points in a game only once this season (Week 3 at the Cowboys). The Panthers matched that point total in one half while piling up 349 yards on 31 plays for an average of 11.3 yards per snap.
Quarterback Cam Newton completed 12 of 17 pass attempts for 246 yards and three touchdowns—and two of his incomplete passes were throwaways. Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. had touchdowns catches for 74 and 46 yards. Running back Jonathan Stewart had a 44-yard run on the opening possession.
“You never want to lose like that,” Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “As a competitor, it is a punch in your face. You’ve got to tip your cap to them but I know we are better than that.”
The Panthers gained just 75 yards after halftime, when they went just 33 and 26 yards on their two scoring drives following Falcons turnovers. But it hardly mattered after the Falcons were helpless to stop them in the first half.
The Falcons missed tackles and committed silly penalties. They struggled to get consistent pressure on Newton. Carolina receivers roamed free in the secondary.
The Panthers didn’t punt until their fourth possession. After another Falcons punt, Carolina got the ball back with 3:44 until halftime and promptly executed a 10-play touchdown drive.
Not even an injury to Newton could slow down the Panthers on that drive. Backup quarterback Derek Anderson replaced Newton for one play and delivered a 24-yard pass to Corey Brown to the four-yard line. Newton missed one play before returning to the game and passing to Ed Dickson for a touchdown.
“Overall we just didn’t play up to our standard at all,” Trufant said. “That’s not like us to give up explosive plays like that, run and pass. Then we just got in a hole, and they had the momentum. Tip your hat off to them but we definitely didn’t play like we were capable.”
About the Author
