Panthers vs. Falcons: 4 Halftime Adjustments Atlanta Should Make

Coming off a tough loss against the Green Bay Packers, the Falcons are sitting just 2-3 and are third in the NFC South. That made today's game against division rivals, the 1-4 Panthers, all the more important.

Getting back to the running game was going to be a point of emphasis for Atlanta, but will they find enough offense to out-slug Cam Newton's Panthers?

Heading into the second half, the Falcons lead 14-10, but here are four things they need to work on if they want to hold on to this slim lead.

Get stops on third down.

The Falcons were able to get the Panthers in long third down situations, but were unable to get a stop until Carolina was already in field goal range to go up 3-0.

Get stops when it matters; so far the Panthers are 4-for-5 in third down situations.

Contain Cam Newton.

You can live with Newton getting a ton of passing yards. The Panthers aren't exactly guaranteed a win if Cam goes over 400 yards, but you can't let him beat you with his legs.

On a big third down, they let Newton out of the pocket to scramble for a first down. Keep him contained and make him beat you in the air alone.

Get more penetration.

The Panthers' front line has been doing an incredible job of holding off Atlanta's pass-rush. Newton has had way more time than he should to complete some long passes.

Atlanta needs to mix up the pass-rush, show some different packages—whatever they need to do, they just can't give Newton that much time.

Stop shooting themselves in the foot.

Atlanta has had two big Michael Turner runs called back because of penalties, first for a holding penalty that may have sprung Turner in the first place. The second was brought back for a dumb personal foul away from the play by Roddy White.