The Falcons wanted to send tight end Tony Gonzalez, perhaps the greatest player at his position of all-time, out with a victory.
But, it was clear that their offensive line didn’t get the memo.
The Panthers harassed, tormented and pummeled quarterback Matt Ryan on their way to a record nine-sack performance and a 21-20 victory before 70,427 fans Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
The Panthers wrapped up the NFC South title with the win and earned a first-round playoff bye.
The Falcons finished 4-12 and get to close the books on one of their most disappointing seasons in franchise history.
The Falcons, who were considered Super Bowl contenders, went from the No. 1 seed in the NFC and 10 yards away from the Super Bowl to last place, all in one season.
This is their worst record since they went 4-12 under Bobby Petrino and Emmitt Thomas in 2007.
Ryan completed 28 of 40 passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Gonzalez had four catches for 56 yards in his 270 NFL game.
Carolina’s Cam Newton, of College Park, completed 15 of 27 passes for 149 yards, two touchdohwn passes and one interception to lead the Panthers.
Despite a fast start fueled by the emotional retirement celebration of tight end Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons trailed 14-10 at halftime.
Their season-long issues of blocking and tackling helped Carolina battle back from a 10-0 deficit. They lost the lead, regained it and then kicked it back to the Panthers because of the offensive line’s inability to protect Ryan and some untimely penalties by a couple of rookies.
Pumped up in their “Win one for Tony” mode, the Falcons came out strong.
The Falcons opened the game by throwing a screen to Gonzalez before picking up a 17-yard gain by Steven Jackson on a pass play, a 23-yard gain by Gonzalez on a pass play and a 17-yard run by Jackson.
After giving up a sack it was third-and-goal from the 9 when Ryan tossed a touchdown pass to running back Jason Snelling. The touchdown was set up by Gonzalez clearing out the area.
After a flurry of punts, safety William Moore intercepted a pass that was bobbled by Carolina’s Domenik Hixon and he returned it 3 yards to Atlanta’s 45.
After Carolina’s fourth sack of the game, the drive stalled at Panthers’ 24. Matt Bryant added a 42-yard field goal to make 10-0 with 7:57 left in the second quarter.
The defense kept the Panthers under wraps until running back DeAngelo Williams busted loose for 56 yards on a swing pass. But Robert Alford came up from behind and knocked the ball out. Desmond Trufant recovered.
However, three plays later Ryan tossed an interception to Carolina cornerback Melvin White, who returned it 8 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-7. It was Ryan’s fourth pass that has been returned for a touchdown this season.
The next Atlanta drive stalled, but Matt Bosher pinned the Panthers back at their 4 with a punt that was downed by long snapper Josh Harris. But the Falcons let the Panthers out of the hole when Alford was called for pass interference on third-and-3. Replays in the pressbox showed Alford grabbing some jersey.
The Panthers went on to cap the demoralizing 13-play, 96-yard touchdown drive when Newton tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Ted Ginn Jr. with 19 seconds left in the second quarter
In the third quarter, the defense forced a punt and then Ryan hooked up with wide receiver Roddy White for a 39-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead, 17-14.
The Panthers, aided by a penalty by rookie linebacker Paul Worrilow, drove right back down to take the lead. Worrilow hit Newton while he was going out of bounds to keep the 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive moving. Newton, who had an eternity in the pocket as the Falcons rushed just three and dropped eight, found tight end Greg Olsen open in the end zone to retake the lead, 21-17.
The Falcons went on a march down in to Carolina territory, but the drive stalled after they gave up their six and seventh sacks of the game. After picking up a fourth down, the drive stalled and Bryant made a 37-yard field goal to make it 21-20 with 7:10 left.
The defense held and forced a punt that bounced into the end zone.
The Falcons had the ball on their 20-yard with 3:21 to play and a chance to send Gonzalez off with a victory.
But the offensive line crumbled again, giving up their eight and ninth sacks, a Carolina Panther single-game record.
The defense stood up and forced another punt.
The Falcons had the ball at their 12-yard line with 1:20 and no timeouts. They were moving and had a firs-and-10 at their 43, when the ball was snapped early and Snelling recovered for a 16-yard loss to kill their hopes.
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