After starting the season 5-0, the Falcons are now 6-6 and have lost five straight games.
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The Carolina Panthers are just three games away from perfection and may have hit the Platonic ideal of a football team.
Olsen twisted his knee awkwardly while trying to catch a pass in the end zone near the end of the first half.
Cam Newton can bolster his case for being the NFL’s most valuable player with a big performance today against the struggling Falcons.
The Panthers are 13-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The fifth-year quarterback completed 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns and posted a career-high QB rating of 153.3.
Jonathan Stewart ran in a one-yard score before Cam Newton threw touchdowns of 74 and 46 yards to Ted Ginn Jr and a four-yard strike to tight end Ed Dickson in the first half.
Over its last four games, Carolina has averaged 39 points in its four wins. The Falcons and Panthers meet in two weeks at Atlanta….
There were some scary moments for Carolina on the injury front.
Several players from both teams had taken part in a bout of pushing and shoving before the game even started but when it came down to the real on-field action it was the Steelers who had the edge.
Seattle’s Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes, three to Doug Baldwin, who has eight in his past three games.
After the Falcons won the coin toss and elected to defer, the Panthers went to work establishing the ground attack.
STILL RUNNING: The Panthers extended their streak of 100-yard rushing games to 24 straight games behind 75 yards in the first half from Stewart.
CHICAGO – Kirk Cousins threw for 300 yards and a touchdown and the Redskins hung on to beat the Bears after Chicago’s Robbie Gould missed yet another late field goal. His two sacks lead the team, and on both occasions he forced fumbles, one that caused a TWENTY SIX yard loss due to the way the ball flew out of Ryan’s hands, and the other he recovered himself. It is hard due to the number of active players you can have on game day, but I seriously wondered about letting Kuechly go back out there after he came out to have his ankle retaped. The rout was on.
This marked the first of two meetings between the NFC South teams this season, though the Panthers had clinched the divisional title a week earlier. He ceded to backup Derek Anderson for a majority of the second half, as head coach Ron Rivera understandably looked to get his starters rest.
The Falcon’ offense was unable to gain any momentum throughout the game due to the Panthers’ offense scoring points with reckless abandon. Devonta Freeman rushed for just 40 yards on 12 carries.
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Put that with a juggernaut defense that recorded its first shutout since September 22, 2013 – a 38-0 victory over the – and this team has to be the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Panthers S Kurt Coleman intercepted his seventh pass of the season, moving him into a tie for the league lead.
