5 things we learned from the Falcons’ 38-0 loss to the Panthers

“As you look at it, Carolina is the best that the league has to offer right now, but our performance was unacceptable,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.

The Panthers, who are three wins away from posting a perfect regular-season, improved to 13-0. The Falcons dropped to 6-7 and have lost six in a row. They are two games behind Seattle (8-5) and Minnesota (8-5) for the final wild-card playoff berth with three games to play.

Tampa Bay also dropped to 6-7, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Falcons.

The Falcons were last shutout on Dec. 5, 2004 in a 27-0 loss at Tampa Bay.

“It was ugly,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said.

Here’s are the five things we learned:

1. Effort lacking. Falcons cornerback Robert Alford appeared to give up on a long pass from Carolina quarterback Cam Newton to Ted Ginn, which resulted in a 74-yard touchdown. Alford had held Ginn and a flag was thrown but the pass was completed anyway and Ginn took flight.

Alford, after battling Ginn, appeared to give up on the play as if he was expecting the penalty to be enforced.

2. Hageman blows fuse. The Falcons disintegrated early.

After allowing the Panthers’ second touchdown, second-year defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman got in a pushing and shoving match with defensive line coach Bryan Cox after the conversion attempt.

Once the battle was broken up, linebacker O’Briend Schofield tried to calm Hageman. He was shoved away.

Veteran defensive tackle Paul Soliai also tried to calm Hageman before Cox went on the field and tried to play peacemaker. Quinn came over near the end of the shoving match, which saw Hageman pulling away for Cox and storming up the sideline.

“They are kind of like father-son,” Quinn said, downplaying the encounter. “Both are emotional guys and (that’s) what makes them both good.”

3. Review call starts skid. An early review call went against the Falcons and started their slide.

On a second-and-22, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton completed a pass to tight Greg Olsen, who appeared to fumble the ball. Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen recovered the ball.

The Panthers challenged the ruling and after a review, the ball was awarded to the Panthers because the officials said Olsen was down by contact.

Three plays later, Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart scored on a short touchdown run to make it 14-0.

Strong safety William Moore sustained an ankle injury on the play and did not return.

4. Offense's woes continue. While the defense was imploding, the Falcons couldn't move the ball. They were forced to punt on five of their first six possessions. The only drive that didn't result in a punt was a kneel down at the end of the first half.

On their seventh possession, running back Devonta Freeman fumbled and Carolina defensive end Kony Ealy recovered.

The Panthers went on to add a field goal to make it 31-0 with 5:46 left in the third quarter.

On their eighth possession, Ryan fumbled and Carolina’s Short recovered the ball. The Panthers scored a touchdown off the turnover to make it 38-0 with 2:18 to play in the third quarter.

The Panthers had five sacks and 11 quarterbacks hits.

“From an offensive standpoint, when you score zero points, clearly we aren’t doing our job,” Ryan said.

5. Historic collapse nearly complete. The Falcons appear set to become just the seventh team since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to not make the playoffs after starting the season 5-0 and they could become the first team in that group to finish with a losing record. A total of 66 of 72 teams who started the season 5-0, advanced to the playoffs.

The 2009 Denver Broncos (8-8), the 2009 New York Giants (8-8), the 2003 Minnesota Vikings (9-7), the 1993 New Orleans Saints (8-8) and the 1978 Washington Redskins (8-8) and the 1974 New England Patriots (7-7) all started the season 5-0 before faltering.