With ideal season gone, Panthers now must focus on larger goals

With 1:42 left in the second quarter, the Falcons chose to run out the clock instead of trying to attack Carolina’s defense and potentially take a lead before halftime.

Tens of thousands of Carolina fans infiltrated Atlanta, making the game at the Georgia Dome sound at times nearly like a virtual home game for the Panthers.

On Graham’s first attempt of the day – a 43-yard kick that would have given the Falcons’ their first lead – became his first miss in his five games with the Falcons.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) celebrates his touchdown with Atlanta Falcons cornerback Robert Alford (23) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, in… Ryan completed third-down passes to White and Jacob Tamme and had a key 7-yard run on another third-down play.

The Patriots overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to force overtime on quarterback Tom Brady’s 9-yard touchdown pass to running back James White with 1:55 left.

“We’re 14-1 now”, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said after going 17 for 30, for just 142 yards with a rushing touchdown. Atlanta (8-7) also kept its own playoff hopes alive, although a win by the Minnesota Vikings later in the day would eliminate the Falcons from postseason contention.

This too depicted the overall mood as players got over the initial shock of losing a regular-season game for the first time in 392 days.

“As [Rivera] said, we played lethargic at times, and we can’t just sit back, especially when we put ourselves in the position where we want to be”, said Newton, the NFL’s leading candidate for most valuable player.

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

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

Ryan Mallet threw for a career-high 274 yards as the Baltimore Ravens put a three-match losing streak behind them with a surprise 20-17 success over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Panthers had scored at least 24 points in 13 straight games.

“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”.

The loss, which dropped the Panthers to 13-1 on the season, came just two weeks after they had decimated the Falcons, 38-0.

“I viewed this game as a measuring stick for us”, Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said. So I didn’t care about how they were feeling after this game.

For the season, Newton has completed 275-of-476 passes for 3,544 yards and 33 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

– Buffalo got touchdown runs from rookie running backs Mike Gillislee and Karlos Williams in a 16-6 win over Dallas.

ATLANTA (AP) – The Carolina Panthers can still clinch home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs with a victory next week, so quarterback Cam Newton likes where they stand.

Jones Goes Off: The Julio Jones/Josh Norman matchup once again garnered lots of hype, and this time around, Jones got the best of his talented counterpart. Jones wound up with nine catches for 178 yards for the 8-7 Falcons.

Jones reached above linebacker Luke Kuechly for the catch as Panthers safety Kurt Coleman slipped, leaving a clear path for Jones to the end zone.

“I think the guys came out and fought hard and in even in our failure we still give thanks”, Norman said. “That’s really all there is”. Without the big plays, the Panthers twice had to settle for Graham Gano field goals on drives inside Atlanta territory.

Leading 14-10, the Falcons were driving inside Panthers’ territory, before Ryan mishandled a shotgun snap that was recovered by Norman and returned to the Falcons’ 36-yard line.