14-1: Falcons deal Panthers first loss

The ideal Panthers marched into Atlanta on Sunday and their quarterback wasted little time in running over the Falcons defense.

The Panthers are now 14-1, with a home game against Tampa Bay next Sunday.

Unfortunately for Newton and the Panthers, the series didn’t end well.

But the Falcons are up 14-10 in the third quarter, after Julio Jones made a ridiculous one-on-two play.

The Panthers promptly marched down the field, and Cam Newton walked the ball into the end zone to cap off an 80-yard, 5:42 drive.

Cam Newton: The frontrunner for the MVP couldn’t muster his fifth fourth quarter comeback of the season.

On Atlanta’s first drive, Carolina cornerback Charles Tillman was penalized for unnecessary roughness after jostling with Roddy White. Don’t expect another shutout when we watch the Panthers game live streaming or on TV today, but the odds of the Falcons winning are quite slim. Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 246 yards and one touchdown in 22 of 35 passes.

The Atlanta Falcons (7-7) are not out of the playoff picture. Carolina’s kicker, Graham Gano, connected on a 33-yard field goal soon thereafter to put the Panthers in front. Kawann Short got his hand up in the middle of the line and Norman sped around the corner, but no Panthers’ player appeared to get a hand on it.

“The 6’4” star snatched the ball out of the air over Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly. The flag, which came after the Panthers had stopped the Falcons on third down, immediately sparked the Falcons, who engineered a 16-play touchdown-scoring drive that took 9:23.