Carolina 23, Atlanta 16
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, October 11, 2020
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature:
Dome
Head Official:
Brad Allen
Attendance:
6656
By Field Level Media
Teddy Bridgewater threw two touchdown passes in a big first half and it was enough as the visiting Carolina Panthers defeated the winless Atlanta Falcons 23-16 on Sunday afternoon.
Bridgewater completed 27 of 37 passes for 313 yards and Mike Davis rushed for 89 yards and caught a touchdown pass as the Panthers (3-2) won their third game in a row.
The Falcons (0-5) gave up 437 yards of total offense, likely putting the future of coach Dan Quinn even more in question.
Atlanta's Matt Ryan went 21-for-37 for 226 yards with a costly fourth-quarter interception. Calvin Ridley caught eight passes for 136 yards. Todd Gurley rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
The Panthers took control with 14 points across the final 2:30 of the first half for a 20-7 advantage. An 89-yard drive for the last score at the 23-second mark was capped by Bridgewater's 3-yard pass to Davis.
Atlanta began the second-half scoring on Younghoe Koo's 46-yard field goal. The Falcons settled for Koo's 31-yarder to conclude a 15-play possession to close within 20-13 on the third play of the fourth quarter.
Atlanta moved into position for a potential tying touchdown, reaching the Carolina 5-yard line, before Ryan was picked off by Juston Burris in the end zone at the 8:49 mark.
At that point, the Falcons had taken 32 second-half snaps compared to Carolina's 11.
But the Panthers then went on a 14-play drive that ate up more than 7 1/2 minutes as the Falcons used all their timeouts. Joey Slye's 22-yard field goal with 1:10 to go clinched it on the team's lone second-half scoring drive even though Koo was good on a 54-yard field goal with four seconds left.
The Falcons opened the scoring on Gurley's 35-yard run in the first quarter, completing a 92-yard drive.
Slye connected on field goals from 38 and 39 yards on consecutive Carolina possessions. Then the Panthers finally reached the end zone on Bridgewater's 57-yard connection with DJ Moore with 2:30 remaining in the first half.
The two field goal drives in the opening half consisted of 14 and eight plays. The first touchdown resulted from an 88-yard, five-play possession. Bridgewater threw for 261 yards -- hitting on 20 of 27 throws -- in the first half, marking the most in an opening half in the NFL this season.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Carolina |
|
Atlanta |
Mike Davis
|
Player |
Todd Gurley
|
16 |
Attempts |
14 |
89 |
Yards |
121 |
5.6 |
Avg Yards |
8.6 |
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
15 |
Long |
35 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Carolina
|
437 |
124 |
313 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2.0 |
1 |
Atlanta
|
373 |
166 |
207 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
Upcoming Games
-
Atlanta will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Falcons have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
-
Carolina will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Panthers have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and .500 after a loss.