NFL Game Recap - Atlanta at Carolina
Sun Nov 17, 2019 1:00 PM EST

PIT
7
CLE
21
F
NYJ
34
WAS
17
F
NO
34
TB
17
F
DEN
23
MIN
27
F
BUF
37
MIA
20
F
JAX
13
IND
33
F
DAL
35
DET
27
F
ATL
29
CAR
3
F
HOU
7
BAL
41
F
ARI
26
SF
36
F
NE
17
PHI
10
F
CIN
10
OAK
17
F
CHI
7
LAR
17
F
KC
24
LAC
17
F
IND
17
HOU
20
F

Nov 17, 2019, 1:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Atlanta (3-7)

10

10

6

3

29

Carolina (5-5)

0

0

0

3

3

Falcons defense overwhelms Allen, Panthers 29-3
Sun Nov 17, 2019 7:00 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Cornerback Isaiah Oliver can’t explain the Falcons’ dramatic turnaround the past two weeks on defense.

But he said it’s a little bittersweet.

“This was the defense we expected to be playing from the start of the season,” Oliver said.

If they had, things might be different this season for the Falcons.

Atlanta had one of the worst defenses in the league the first eight games of the season, which played a big role in a 1-7 start. But over the past two weeks the Falcons have been nothing short of dominant, allowing just four field goals and no touchdowns.

On Sunday, Atlanta intercepted Kyle Allen four times and sacked him five times, Kenjon Barner returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown and the Falcons defeated the Carolina Panthers 29-3 for their second straight lopsided win against an NFC South foe.

The Falcons upset the Saints 26-9 the week before.

The Falcons (3-7) had only two interceptions all season - and none since Week 2 against the Eagles - but intercepted Allen three times in the first half to build a 20-0 lead.

Oliver said the exasperating thing is the Falcons aren’t doing anything different defensively the past two weeks since returning from the bye week.

“Defensively, we have the same players on the field, we’re calling the same calls we have been calling, running the same defense - it’s just working better, honestly,” Oliver said. “Guys are communicating more and getting to the ball quicker. But in terms of the schemes, everything is the same.”

For Matt Ryan, it was business as usual against the Panthers.

Ryan improved to 7-1 in his past eight starts against Carolina, throwing for 311 yards including a 6-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley.

Ridley found huge holes in the Carolina defense, finishing with eight catches for 143 yards and rookie Qadree Ollison added a 2-yard TD run for the Falcons, who won despite playing without running back Devonta Freeman and tight end Austin Hooper.

The Panthers (5-5) appear to be headed in the other direction.

They have lost three of their past four games with Allen under center, who is suddenly struggling with turnovers.

The second-year QB has thrown nine interceptions in the past four games, after not throwing any in his first four career starts. He spent most of the game under heavy duress, as the Panthers offensive line racked up holding penalties nullifying big gains.

“He’s a good young football player, and he’s done some really good things for us,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said of Allen. “But today he got overwhelmed.”

Allen said it boiled down to “poor decision-making” on his part.

He didn’t get much help. Along with the lack of pass protection, the Panthers were penalized eight times for 68 yards which prevented them from mustering any momentum on offense.

Panthers veteran tight end Greg Olsen called his team’s performance a “comedy of terrible football.”

"We stunk. We played terrible,” Olsen said. “We got beat in all aspects of the game. Penalties, turnovers, drops - it was like every single drive. It's impossible to play football like that.”

BARNER’S RETURN

The Falcons dominated in every phase of the game, including special teams.

Barner, who was drafted by the Panthers in 2013, gave Atlanta the boost it needed when he fielded Michael Palardy’s punt and weaved his way up the field, picking up blockers along the way en route to an early 10-0 lead. It was the first punt return allowed by the Panthers since 2016.

Palardy appeared to outkick his coverage.

“I had a motorcade in front of me,” Barner said with a laugh. “Our guys did a great job of blocking.”

McCAFFREY’S NUMBERS

Christian McCaffrey finished with 191 yards from scrimmage but failed to score for the first time since Week 2. Still, he passed LaDainian Tomlinson (238) for the most receptions by a running back in his first three NFL seasons.

NO SHUTOUT

Trailing 26-0 late in the game, Rivera elected to go for a field goal instead of a touchdown.

“You don’t want to get shutout, especially at home,” Rivera said. “So you kick the field goal and take the points. At the end of the day at least you can keep your head up over something.”

INJURIES

Falcons: Takk McKinley injured his shoulder on a first-half sack of Allen and did not return.

UP NEXT

Falcons: Host Buccaneers on Sunday.

Panthers: Visit Saints on Sunday.

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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL

Passing

ATL Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
M. Ryan 31 21 67.7 1 311 48 0 111.1 3
K. Barner 1 1 100.0 0 3 3 0 79.2 0
CAR Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
K. Allen 50 31 62.0 0 325 31 4 47.5 5

Rushing

ATL Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
B. Hill 15 30 2.0 11 0
K. Barner 2 15 7.5 9 0
CAR Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
C. McCaffrey 14 70 5.0 18 0
K. Allen 1 7 7.0 7 0

Receiving

ATL Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
C. Ridley 8 143 17.9 36 1
J. Jones 6 91 15.2 48 0
CAR Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
C. McCaffrey 11 121 11.0 23 0
D. Moore 8 95 11.9 31 0

Team Stats Comparison

ATL CAR
Points For 29 3
Total Yards 349 347
Rushing Yards 54 77
Passing Yards 295 270
Passing Completions / Attempts 22/32 31/50
Turnovers 0 4
Interceptions Thrown 0 4
Fumbles - Lost 3/0 0/0
First Downs 20 17
Rushing Touchdowns 1 0
Passing Touchdowns 1 0
Penalties - Yards 3/20 8/68
Time Of Possession 31:26 28:34
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 6/14 2/14
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/1 3/5
Red Zone Conversions/Attempts 2/5 0/2
Sacks Against 3 5
Punts - Average Yards 3/42 4/47
Punt Returns - Average Yards/Punt Return 3/26 1/6
Kickoff Returns - Average Yards/Kickoff Return 0/0 3/23

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter ATL CAR
ATL 03:21 FG Younghoe Koo 38 yd FG 3 0
ATL 14:01 TD Kenjon Barner 78 yd punt return (Younghoe Koo kick) 10 0
2nd Quarter ATL CAR
ATL 09:18 FG Younghoe Koo 23 yd FG 13 0
ATL 13:26 TD Qadree Ollison 2 yd run (Younghoe Koo kick) 20 0
3rd Quarter ATL CAR
ATL 08:20 TD Calvin Ridley 6 yd pass from Matt Ryan (2pt Sack of Matt Ryan) 26 0
4th Quarter ATL CAR
CAR 02:00 FG Joey Slye 31 yd FG 26 3
ATL 07:59 FG Younghoe Koo 29 yd FG 29 3

Game Information

Stadium: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance: 73,106
Game Time: 3:4
Weather: