Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers: Full Report-Card Grades for Carolina
A rivalry game. A chance to move into first place. A close scoring affair. All those elements encompassed Sunday afternoon's game between the Carolina Panthers (3-7-1) and the Atlanta Falcons (4-6). When the dust settled, the Panthers were on the wrong end of a heartbreaking loss and dropped to third place within the NFC South.
Not only did the Panthers lose a close game (and effectively spoil a strong outing by its defense), they failed to capitalize on a New Orleans loss for the second week in a row. As a result, the Falcons moved into a first-place tie with the Saints.
Cam Newton and his offense struggled early in the game with only three points to show for its efforts after one half of football. Had the unit played better, the outcome of this game may have ended differently.
Who shined and who needs to improve?
This week's game grades has a mix of high, low and in-between marks for Week 11's game.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Cam Newton started the game by throwing an interception on the sixth play of the Panthers' first offensive series. He would throw another one before channeling his Pro Bowl form and connecting with his rookie wideouts for a pair of touchdowns.
After the game was over, his final stat line was a respectable 23-of-37 for 292 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His quarterback rating was 82.3 on the day.
While he did give his team a chance to win, his efforts did come a little too late and his problems with overthrowing his receivers continued to be a problem. His accuracy was plagued with the inability to put passes where he wanted them (namely to Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olsen) and even prompted talk about replacing him with Derek Anderson by the game's commentators.
Despite a slow start, he did all he could to help his team late in the game. It just wasn't enough.
Grade: C+
Running Backs
2 of 10
The Atlanta Falcons had given up an average of 124 yards on the ground this season. Carolina was unable to take advantage of this fact and was held to 106 yards as a team. DeAngelo Williams had 41 yards on 10 carries, but did not score. It's amazing he wasn't utilized more with his 4.1 yards per carry against the Falcons defense, and yet another week has gone by without a big day from a Panthers running back.
Jonathan Stewart carried the ball just seven times and gained 24 yards. Additionally, he had three receptions for 15 yards. By comparison, Williams only had one catch, and it resulted in a loss of three yards.
The Carolina offense would be so much better if a better running game would take root. However, mediocrity and low expectations have been the norm for a unit whose production has been outdone by the efforts of the quarterback.
A lot of work needs to take place to turn the unit around, and much like the team missed out on a big opportunity in seizing first place, the running backs missed out on exposing a weak area in the Atlanta defense.
Grade: C-
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10
If Greg Olsen had caught the majority of his targets, this unit might have a perfect grade. He only caught five passes on 11 targets, but he was able to rack up 62 yards. Additionally, his presence of mind to get out of bounds with a second left to play gave his team one more chance at winning the game.
However, the story of the offense's success rests on the shoulders of two rookies.
Kelvin Benjamin and Philly Brown each had a receiving touchdown and were the reasons why the Panthers made the game a close contest. For Benjamin, he put together a 100-yard day with 108 receiving yards on nine catches. Brown's day was quieter, but it was highlighted by a huge 47-yard receiving touchdown that put Carolina ahead.
This unit did everything it could to help the Panthers, and after Brown's score, it seemed as though it would be the difference in a tight game.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Give the Carolina offensive line credit; they played better than they did last week. It didn't start out well for the unit, after giving up a sack on the Panthers' first offensive series, and even though the ensuing play resulted in a helmet-to-helmet penalty and a new set of downs, fans were reminded of just how vulnerable this line has been all year long.
However, for a unit that experienced its sixth different combination of the season, only two sacks were surrendered on the day.
A little more aggressiveness in the running game would have been welcomed, as the running backs struggled to do much. Even Cam Newton struggled to make plays with his feet as the line was able to make enough room for him gain 30 yards on five carries (15 of that happened on one play).
In a battle between two weak lines, the Panthers disappointed a bit in failing to do more in the trenches.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The absence of Star Lotulelei could have affected the Carolina defensive front in a negative way, but the Panthers were able to swarm the ball at the line of scrimmage and even in the backfield. Atlanta was only able to score one touchdown, with the rest of their points coming via field goal.
Defensively, the Panthers played a good game.
Those efforts were helped by the play of the defensive line. Charles Johnson and Mario Addison had a sack each, with the former compiling six tackles on the day. The Atlanta rushing attack was stymied as well. The Falcons were only able to muster 86 yards on 27 carries.
That was a great improvement from a line that had been giving up chunks of yards to many running backs this season.
Carolina's defensive front probably deserves more credit, but they could have put more pressure on Matt Ryan following Philly Brown's touchdown and kept the Falcons from reaching field-goal range. That particular series does not fall solely on the line's shoulders, but more pressure inside Atlanta territory could have generated a different result.
Grade: B
Linebackers
6 of 10
Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly combined for 23 tackles against the Falcons, with Davis leading the way with 12. His day went beyond leading the team in tackles, as he placed a crushing hit on Devin Hester which jarred the ball loose and was recovered by Kuechly.
There is no doubting the intensity of these two players, and the linebacker unit is strong because of their presence behind the defensive line. Much like their teammates up front, it was a solid day for the unit but more probably could have been done to keep the Falcons from getting into field-goal range and reclaiming the lead late in the game.
However, they did help give the offense one more crack at a field-goal attempt with less than 30 seconds remaining, and in the end, that is all that can be asked of your defense. Much like the defensive line, this unit looked better than it had in previous weeks.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
The positives to take away from the secondary's performance Sunday: Matt Ryan was held under 300 yards passing, only one passing touchdown was allowed and no Falcons receiver had 100 yards receiving. At first glance, it seems like solid day.
However, Roman Harper drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness which gave the Falcons a lot more yards than they should have received. If not for a subsequent 15-yard penalty against Atlanta which more or less negated the Panthers' penalty, the Carolina secondary may have received a lower mark.
Another negative to take away from this game is the fact that the passing defense allowed Matt Ryan to move the ball efficiently before stopping him and the Falcons offense. By then, it was too late, and the division rivals were in field-goal range late in the game.
Harper and Josh Norman combined for 15 tackles and one defended pass. It would have been nice to see more passes batted down by the secondary, but of the four, only two were by a member of the unit.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
8 of 10
The contributions of the Carolina special teams could easily be overshadowed by the shortcomings of Graham Gano. However, it does warrant some mention, and Gano's day will be discussed momentarily.
Brad Nortman was called upon six times to punt in this game and was below his season average of 47.7 yards per punt. He averaged 35.7 yards on the day for a total of 214 yards. However, the coverage on the special teams (both punting and kicking) was excellent, as Devin Hester was unable to do anything of note.
The returns in the kicking and punting games were nothing special (Brandon Williams fielded two short kicks) and had no bearing on the game's final score. However, Fozzy Whittaker did have a 46-yard return in the third quarter, but it did not lead to any points.
Back to Gano.
The veteran kicker was unable to connect on a 46-yard field goal that would have been the potential game-winning field goal. He was wide left on the attempt, and many fans felt their hearts sink in their chest. He was given a chance at redemption when the Carolina offense was able to get the ball back and set him up with a 63-yard attempt with one second left on the clock. That attempt was less dramatic, as the Falcons were able to block it and seal the victory.
It was a tough day for the Carolina kicking game and one that left the team disappointed in a missed opportunity to get back into first place.
Grade: C-
Coaching
9 of 10
Kudos to Ron Rivera for keeping enough timeouts to give his team one final shot at a last-second win. It would have been better to have kept all three of them which would have resulted in additional time on the clock and perhaps give Graham Gano an opportunity to kick a field goal from a more manageable range.
Also, it would have been nice to see Riverboat Ron emerge in the game with the Panthers behind early. It was surprising to see Carolina punt on 4th-and-5 in the fourth quarter given how well the defense was playing. Then again, the Panthers were not converting well offensively.
Still, he coached well enough to keep the game close and put his guys in a position to win.
Mike Shula and Sean McDermott did a fine job of making some adjustments and making the Panthers look like a different team a week after being embarrassed on national television.
The Panthers coaches need to use Sunday's heartbreaking loss and use it as fuel to finish strong. The schedule is favorable, and with a weak division, anything is possible.
Grade: B
Final Grade
10 of 10
Quarterback: C+
Running Backs: C-
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: A-
Offensive Line: C+
Defensive Line: B
Linebackers: B
Secondary: C+
Special Teams: C-
Coaching: B
Final Score: B-
Carolina should have won this game, and Atlanta nearly allowed them to steal victory away from them. This was a game played between two below-average squads, and the Panthers found themselves outdone by inconsistent play early and bad luck late.
One more loss means a losing season for Carolina, and while the team is still in contention for a division championship, they do not resemble anything looking like a playoff team.
The Panthers need to play hard the rest of the way, because the margin for error has become very slim. Dropping a game to an opponent that has beaten themselves on more than one occasion this season shouldn't sit well with a Panthers team that is looking to defend its division title.
Game information provided via ESPN.com.
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