Panthers vs. Falcons: Final Grades and Analysis for Carolina's Week 4 Game

The Week 4 matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons was full of drama and was thrilling from start to finish.

The Falcons overcame the Panthers with a field goal at the end of the game to take the game 30-28.

Both teams starting quarterbacks were excellent, but conservative play calling and a defensive implosion caused the Panthers to lose the game.  

We will be providing live game grades and updated analysis throughout the afternoon. Make sure to keep this live report card open and follow along this evening as we evaluate the Panthers' attempt to hand the Falcons their first loss of the season. 

Cam Newton- A-

Overall Grade- A- 

Cam Newton played very well against the Atlanta Falcons and based upon his performance, the Panthers should have won this game. 

Cam completed 15 of his 24 attempts and finished with a passer rating of 119.3. Perhaps even more important than the yardage that Newton racked up was that he never turned the ball over. 

Newton played a great game in the Georgia Dome and it's a shame that he lost this game after his strong performance. 

Fourth Quarter- B- 

Cam Newton made an excellent throw to Greg Olsen from the teams 12-yard line in the first play of their biggest drive of the game. 

Newton has been finding Olsen all season, and the tight end appears to be his second favorite target behind Steve Smith.

Cam was stripped on a second-and-five but it was recovered by one of his team mates, saving what could have been a game changing mistake.  

Newton converted on two of his first six third downs, but his second conversion was a touchdown to Kealoha Pilares on a screen play.

Cam was unable to convert a third-and-eight with four minutes left in the game, which gives Matt Ryan a chance to lead the Falcons on a game-wiinning drive.

On a second-and-long prior to the two minute warning, Newton kept the ball on a read option and moved the chains to run the clock down to the two minute warning. He fumbled the ball on his next carry, but the ball was recovered by the Falcons.  

Third Quarter- B 

Cam Newton has done a nice job in providing variety for the Panthers offense, and he made two excellent runs inside the red zone and found the end zone.

Midway through the third quarter, Newton has amassed 64 yards on the ground and is the reason that the Panthers are still in thhe game. 

While he hasn't been outstanding from the pocket, he has taken care of the ball and has made the throws that Carolina has needed to remain in striking distance. 

Second Quarter- B- 

Cam Newton got some support from DeAngelo William's ground attack early on in the second quarter, as the Panthers scored their second touchdown of the day on a Williams scamper up the middle.

While Cam hasn't been superb, he has avoided mistakes and has taken what the defense has given him.

Going into halftime, the Panthers are only down by three points so there will be a lot of pressure on Newton to lead Carolina to the upset in the second half.  

First Quarter- B+ 

Cam Newton completed all three of his passes on the Panthers first drive, which culminated with Newton finding Greg Olsen for a touchdown. 

Cam also broke off a 32 yard run which put the Panthers in scoring position. Newton looks comfortable through the first drive, and looks more like the player who dominated the New Orleans Saints in Week 2.

Newton wasn't as effective during the second drive, as he threw two incompletions and was unable to lead the team on another successful drive. 

Cam did throw a nice ball that Mike Tolbert dropped, which was promising to see from Newton's perspective because it wasn't an easy throw to make. 

Offense- B-

Overall Game Grade- B- 

The Panthers offense played a good game overall, but their inability to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter cost them the game. 

Greg Olsen, Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams all played well, while Brandon LaFell and Mike Tolbert had a hard time getting anything going.

Smith's fumble was the units only turnover, which was a major problem last week against the Giants.

The overall game grade would had been much higher if they had moved the chains a couple more times at the end of the fourth quarter.  

Fourth Quarter- B-

Steve Smith failed to stay in bounds on a huge fourth-and-five at the beginning of the quarter, which forced the Panthers to punt the ball away.

Greg Olsen has been a force in this game, as he has hauled in six catches for 89 yards with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Kealoha Pilares took a screen to the house after the Falcons jumped offside and hesitated after the snap. The Panthers offense has put the team in position to win the game and they have only turned the ball over once. 

With just under five minutes left in the game, Newton and the offense have an opportunity to run out the clock. On the first two plays of the drive, the Panthers ran the ball twice two yards and then threw an incomplete pass to squander their chance to run out the clock.

When presented with another opportunity to run out the clock, Carolina was unable to run out the clock but forced the Falcons to use all of their time outs.

The offense takes a hit because one more first down would have clinched the game.   

Third Quarter- B

The Panthers clearly wanted to get Jonathan Stewart involved, as he touched the ball on each of the teams' first three plays. He converted the Panthers maiden first down of the third quarter, and it turned out to be their only one of their first drive.

Cam Newton led the Panthers to a touchdown on their second drive, as he connected with Greg Olsen on a big 18-yard completion. 

If the Panthers are to upset the Falcons, they will need Newton to make plays with his feet as well as his arm.

Carolina is in striking distance and it will be up to the offense to get them across the finish line with a victory. 

Second Quarter- B 

DeAngelo Williams has gotten going in the second quarter, as he picked up 25 yards on his first three carries. 

After a 27-yard strike from Cam Newton to Steve Smith, Williams ran the ball up the middle for a 13 yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 14-10 lead. 

It is imperative that the Panthers maintain this strong rushing effort throughout the rest of the game. If they are able to do that, they have a real chance to upset the undefeated Falcons.

Brandon LaFell and Jonathan Stewart are yet to make an impact, as Steve Smith and Greg Olsen have been Newton's main targets.

The Panthers receivers will have to step up and get more open for Newton in the second half, which should only help the running game as well.  

First Quarter- C+ 

Cam Newton found Greg Olsen inside the Falcons ten-yard line, and the tight end used his size and athleticism to find the end zone. 

Outside of Newton's 32 yard run, the Panthers haven't been able to get anything going on the ground. 

Newton played well in the first quarter, but needs to have more support from the running game to truly thrive. 

Mike Tolbert dropped a ball that he should have caught on third down which would have moved the chains. 

The players at the skill positions have to avoid making mistakes because it's only a matter of time before Atlanta's offense starts to heat up. 

Steve Smith fumbled the ball on a reverse after he ran for the first down, which has put the Panthers in a bad situation as the first quarter winds down. 

Defense- C-

Overall Game Grade- C-

The defense surrendered 30 points and allowed the Falcons to get into field goal position with limited time and no timeouts.

Roddy White torched the Carolina secondary for eight receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns. White was also the player who hauled down the deep pass that Matt Ryan threw from his own end zone to put the Falcons in position to kick the game winning field goal.

The Falcons compiled 426 yards of offense, with 121 yards of that coming on the ground.

Michael Turner had his best game of the season, as he ran for 103 yards and added another 69 yards receiving.

The Panthers made stops throughout the game, but their inability to stop the Falcons desperation drive makes it impossible to give them a decent grade.  

Fourth Quarter- D 

The Panthers have hard a very hard time taking down Michael Turner once he gets going, and that has killed them defensively. 

Turner went over the 150-yard mark in all-purpose yards prior to the ten minute mark in the fourth quarter, as he and Roddy White have had their way with the Panthers defense.

Greg Hardy brought down Matt Ryan, which marked the Panthers fifth sack of the game. Carolina has done an excellent job getting to Ryan.

Carolina's defense came onto the field with less than eight minutes left with a four point lead and a stop would give them a great chance to upset the Falcons.

After being called for an offside penalty, Frank Alexander brought Ryan down for a nine yard loss to knock the Falcons out of the red zone.

On 3rd-and-19, Carolina's defensive line pressured Ryan and forced the Falcons to kick a field goal.

On third-and-three, Charles Johnson made a huge play pushing Ryan out of bounds for an eight yard loss. The play forced the Falcons to punt, giving the offense another chance to run out the clock.

Johnson has been excellent throughout the entire game, as has the entire defensive line.

Ryan started on his one-yard line and hit Roddy White to move the ball over mid-field. After a couple more short passes that the Panthers defense allowed, Matt Bryant kicked the game winning filed goal to finish off the game and crush the Panthers spirit.   

Third Quarter- C+

Matt Ryan hit Michael Turner for a screen pass that Turner took all the way to the house, as the Panthers were unable to get a good angle for a tackle.

In fact, Carolina made Turner look as evasive in the open field as he used to back in 2009. Ryan has now accounted for three touchdown passes, as the Panthers pass rush has been rather disappointing.

The Panthers have held the Falcons to 24 points through three quarters, which isn't great but isn't awful either.

At this point, if Carolina can keep Roddy White from killing them through the air, then their defense should have the capabilities of keeping Ryan and the Falcons out of the end zone for the rest of the game.  

Second Quarter- C 

The Panthers defense made a big stand after the Steve Smith fumble, as the secondary has been solid outside of Roddy White's 49-yard touchdown reception.

Carolina's defense has been more than respectable thus far, but will need their offense to keep Matt Ryan off the field more if they want to continue playing this well.

At the midway point in the second quarter, the Panthers have already forced the Falcons to go three and out twice.

Ryan hit Roddy White in the middle of the end zone to give the Panthers a three-point lead, which marked their second scoring connection of the game. 

The Panthers secondary needs to find a way to slow White down and could really use some help in the form of quicker pressure from the defensive front. 

First Quarter- B- 

Charles Johnson stood out on the Falcons first drive, as he knocked down a Matt Ryan pass on second down and was in on a sack of Ryan on third down to force a three-and-out.  

On the Falcons second drive, the Panthers defense showed their resiliency as they bent but never broke. Michael Turner was able to gash the run defense as he paced the Falcons down the field and even had two carries inside the five yard line. 

After a red zone penalty by both teams, Haruki Nakamura picked off Matt Ryan in the end zone to give the ball back to Cam Newton and the offense.

The defense is showing heart in the first quarter and have kept the explosive Falcons offense off the board through two drives.

Ryan hit Roddy White for a 49-yard touchdown as Haruki Nakamura looked lost in coverage. In one play, the Panthers good start of defense has gone up in smoke.  

Special Teams-A-

Overall Game Grade- A- 

The special teams didn't do anything special until Brad Nortman and the punt coverage team pinned the Atlanta Falcons on their one-yard line with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter. 

Kealoha Pilares was decent returning kick offs, but he didn't change the game with them at all. 

Justin Medlock was never asked to kick a field goal, but he did convert on all of his extra point attempts. 

Fourth Quarter- A 

Brad Nortman pinned the Panthers inside their 20-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter, as he remains the teams best special teams player.

When asked to punt the ball away with four minutes left, Nortman didn't out kick his coverage and the return was stifled instantly.

After the offense failed to run out the clock again, Nortman punted the ball that was fielded at the one-yard line to make it a 99-yard drive for Matt Ryan and the Falcons.  

Third Quarter- C 

Kealoha Pilares hasn't been able to find much room on his kick off returns, as the Falcons coverage has been disciplined and fast. 

Second Quarter- C 

The special teams still hasn't done much of anything, as the unit hasn't done anything overly impressive through three and a half games this season.  

First Quarter- C

Not much to report on special teams other than that Captain Munnerlyn didn't fumble during his first punt return in relief of the inactive Joe Adams.

Brad Nortman punted the ball 44 yard, as he continues to impress during his rookie campaign.  

Coaching- D

Overall Game Grade- D

Under no circumstances is it acceptable to allow the other team to get in position for a game winning field goal when the are backed up on their one-yard line with no timeouts and just over a minute left in the game.

However, that is exactly what happened to Rivera's Panthers and that is why his grade is so bad. 

Fourth Quarter- D 

The Panthers were cautious with their play calling on the two possessions in which they could have run the clock out. In my opinion, this shows that the team doesn't trust Newton to make a big play from the pocket when the team is ahead in a close game.

Since the Falcons drove down the field and won the game with a field goal, the Panthers coaches need to take some blame for being so conservative offensively when an extra first down would have iced the game.

Also, allowing a team to drive down the field for the winning score when they start on their one0yard line with no timeouts and just over a minute left is unacceptable.  

Third Quarter- B 

Entering the fourth quarter, the Panthers are only down by three points on the road against the division leader. 

For the Panthers, the goal had to be to give themselves a chance to steal the game late, and they have done exactly that. 

Carolina has played with more passion than they did against the Giants during Week 3, and Rivera may be rewarded for it with a big victory.

Second Quarter- B

The team looks very prepared coming off the putrid performance against the New York Giants. Rivera's players have been playing with intensity and he should garner some of the credit for that. 

Rivera does have to find a way to cover Roddy White in the second half, as he found the end zone twice in the first half. 

First Quarter- B 

Ron Rivera and Rob Chudzinski called a good first drive as the Panthers found the end zone on their first drive. 

Through the first quarter, the play calling has been better than it was against the New York Giants. At the very least, Rivera appears to have fielded a competitive team this week.