Panthers’ Quest For Undefeated Season Ends With Week 16 Loss To Falcons

There was no one play the Panthers could point to as the decisive one, not even the best-of-the-season catch by Julio Jones that gave the Falcons the lead once and for all. Jones finished with 178 ya…

With a crucial 3rd-and-13, Ryan extended the play, rolling to his left before slinging a deep ball to Jones, who overcame double coverage to haul in the catch, turn around and complete a momentum-shifting 70-yard touchdown.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes for Kansas City, and the game clock finally stopped Johnny Manziel as the Chiefs held on to beat the Cleveland Browns 17-13 on Sunday for their franchise record-tying ninth consecutive victory.

Kroy Biermann, defensive end, Atlanta Falcons: The Hardin native had a half-sack, one tackle and two assists in the Falcons’ 20-13 win over the Panthers.

Their loss to Atlanta was their first loss since last November.

The Boss Gets the Juice Flowing: Prior to opening kickoff, Arthur Blank walked into the Falcons locker room and, instead of speaking to the players, reportedly did a dance that got everyone pumped up. During the drive, the 49ers were flagged for being offside or in the neutral zone for the seventh time to set a single-game high by an National Football League team this year, according to STATS.

“This is part of the journey”, said Panthers coach Ron Rivera.

MVP candidate Cam Newton finished with 142 yards passing on 17-of-30 and no TDs while rushing for 46 yards and a touchdown.

With all that said, the Panthers were exposed on Sunday in some areas that weren’t just a one-week thing.

“That’s bull crap”, Newton said. To be 14-1 at this point in the season is tremendous, so let’s not lose sight of that. The Panthers had scored at least 24 points in 13 straight games.

It marked the first defeat in 19 regular-season games for Carolina (14-1). “There were some plays where that we left out there, we knew it. Yet, we know what we’re capable of… we’ve put ourselves in this situation where we can use this as fuel to the fire”.

“I viewed this game as a measuring stick for us”, Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said. In addition, the Falcons got just enough on the ground from Devonta Freeman (22 carries for 73 yards) to torture the Panthers more.

Carolina needed a win or tie or an Arizona loss or tie against Green Bay to clinch home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs.

White, who was slighted as being described as Atlanta’s “fifth receiver” last week by Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, stepped up with his best performance since the season-opener against Philadelphia by catching five passes for 67 yards. The play put Atlanta ahead to stay at 14-10. – Greg Olsen on the fourth-down incompletion in the final minutes, when he said he had trouble getting the play call. “That’s really all there is”. I think a lot of peolple thought that the Panthers were gonna go undefeated all season.

Carolina trailed 14-10 in the fourth quarter when Ryan mishandled a shotgun snap from the Panthers 37.

The Cowboys (4-11) lost in quarterback Kellen Moore’s first career start.

“I’ve been able to give pressure to quarterbacks throughout the year”, Beasley said, “but we’ve been continuing to work together and we were in a great place this week to get it done”.

“Having the grit, determination right down there all the way to the end to make some stops”.