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Week 3 Game Recap: Carolina Panthers 27, Atlanta Falcons 20
What you need to know
| Carolina Panthers |
The Carolina offense was able to run the ball successfully against the Atlanta defense. Due to the success on the ground, Jake Delhomme wasn't forced to try to win the game with his arm. He threw just 18 times, completing 10 of those passes. He finished with 109 yards and two touchdowns. Delhomme left the game late in the third quarter with an apparent elbow injury. David Carr came in and completed three of four passes for 56 yards.
DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams carried the ball a combined 31 times for 169 yards. Foster was the workhorse in the game, picking up the tough yards. Foster scored once on the ground and once on a pass into the end zone. Williams was the change of pace running back and played well averaging over four yards per carry.
The leading receiver in the game was the tight end Jeff King. He caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. Steve Smith didn't have a catch until there were ten minutes left in the fourth quarter. DeAngelo Hall covered him exclusively and basically shut him down.
The Carolina rush defense gave up a couple of big runs but otherwise kept the Atlanta running game in check. Combined, Dunn and Norwood gained 87 rushing yards on 17 carries. The Panthers were unable to get pressure on the quarterback though. By not being able to get to Harrington, he had all day to throw and was able to find open receivers. The Panthers pass defense gave up 361 yards and two touchdowns.
| Atlanta Falcons |
The signing of Byron Leftwich may have Joey Harrington thinking it's now or never to produce. Harrington looked inspired and kept Atlanta in the game. He completed 31 of 44 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns.
The Falcons only ran the ball 17 times but they did pick up 87 yards. Dunn was effective when he had the chance to run. He carried the ball 11 times for 55 yards. Norwood added six carries for 32 yards including a 26 yard burst.
Roddy White had a career day catching seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown was on a short pass but he broke a tackle at midfield and went all the way for the score. Michael Jenkins and Alge Crumpler each added six catches. Crumpler scored when he was able to break a tackle over the middle.
The Atlanta rush defense was unable to contain the Panthers running game. They gave up 176 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Falcons defense was very good against the pass. DeAngelo Hall got the better of Steve Smith in terms of stats but Hall blew up in the third quarter. On the same drive, Hall committed three penalties on Smith for a total of 67 yards. The drive ended in a touchdown that tied the game at 17-17.
What you ought to know
| QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 10 - 18 - 109 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 |
Delhomme made a lot happen with a few throws connecting on ten of 18 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was a beautifully thrown ball over the shoulder of Foster right near the pylon. Later he connected with Jeff King at the goal line and King was able to stretch the ball over the line for the touchdown. Late in the third quarter, Delhomme threw an incomplete pass to the right and immediately held the elbow on his throwing arm. He was not hit on the play and did not return to the game.
| QB David Carr, Pass: 3 - 4 - 56 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0 |
Carr came into the game after Delhomme left the game with what appeared to be an elbow injury. He completed three of four passes for 56 yards and led the Panthers to their final ten points and the win.
| RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 20 - 122 - 1, Rec: 1 - 13 - 1 (2 targets) |
Foster rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on just 20 carries. Foster was the go to back late in the game when the tough yards were needed. Foster picked up seven first downs on the ground. He picked up 49 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. With the Panthers up just seven points, Foster picked up three first downs on their final drive to run the clock out on the Falcons. Foster's only catch of the game was on a great over the shoulder catch on the edge of the end zone. The play was challenged and upheld.
| RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 11 - 47 - 0 |
While Foster picked up the tough yards, Williams was the speed back. He carried the ball 11 times for 47 yards. He wasn't targeted in the passing game though. Williams picked up a couple of first downs in the game. Of note was when Carolina got inside the Atlanta 15 yard line, Foster was the featured back.
| WR Keary Colbert, Rec: 3 - 52 - 0 (4 targets) |
Colbert made three catches for 52 yards. He made an excellent five yard grab on a fast, high pass from Delhomme. Later in the game, David Carr hit Colbert deep for a 38 yard completion. It set up a Carolina field goal that put them up by ten points.
| WR Steve Smith, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (6 targets) |
Smith was blanketed by DeAngelo Hall the entire game. Smith had two uncharacteristic drops early on and he didn't have a catch until there were 10 minutes left in the game. While he didn't contribute with stats, Smith did cause Hall to blow up and possibly cost the Falcons the game. Smith had him beat and forced Hall to commit a 37 yard pass interference penalty. On the very next play Hall was hit with a 15 yard personal foul. On the same drive, Hall continued to jaw at Smith and another 15 yard penalty was thrown on Hall. Carolina then scored a touchdown. So even though he only had one catch, Smith should probably be credited with an assist on the Panthers second touchdown.
| WR Drew Carter, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (1 targets) |
Carter was targeted just one time and caught the pass for a 17 yard gain.
| TE Jeff King, Rec: 4 - 56 - 1 (7 targets) |
King was the favorite target of Delhomme. He was targeted seven times and caught four of them. He gained 56 yards and scored a touchdown on a pass that he caught right at the goal line and was able to stretch the ball across the line. King and Delhomme were starting to build good chemistry so the injury to Delhomme will be something to keep an eye on.
| TE Christian Fauria, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Fauria caught the only pass thrown his way. The pass went for a first down on a third and eight play. There was also a roughing the passer penalty on the play so that put the ball on the Atlanta ten yard line. Carolina scored on the next play.
| PK John Kasay 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
Kasay made field goals from 45 yards and 49 yards. The 49 yarder was huge since it put Carolina up by two scores with just 5:49 left in the game. He also made all three of his extra point attempts.
| CAR Rush Defense |
While the Carolina rush defense did allow five yards per carry, they were able to hold the Falcons to just 17 rushing attempts. Atlanta had two big runs for a total of 43 yards. Besides those two runs, they only picked up 44 additional yards on 15 carries. The Atlanta running backs picked up just four first downs on the ground. The defense was helped out by an Atlanta penalty that negated a 14 yard run by Norwood.
| CAR Pass Defense |
The Panthers pass defense was ripped up for 361 yards and two touchdowns. Both of Atlanta's touchdowns were on pass plays where the defense failed to make the tackle and the receiver ended up scoring on the play. The defense just couldn't get any pressure on Harrington and allowed him to pick apart the defense. The pass defense got one sack in the game. Late in the game the defense allowed Joe Horn to get his hands on a pass in the end zone but he dropped it.
| QB Joey Harrington, Pass: 31 - 44 - 361 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0 |
Harrington had an excellent game throwing for 361 yards and two touchdowns. It was his highest passing yards since week seven of 2006. He spread the ball around to eight different players and was extremely efficient, completing 70% of his passes. Harrington did not throw an interception and was only sacked once after being sacked 13 times in the prior two games.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 11 - 55 - 0, Rec: 4 - 13 - 0 (5 targets) |
Dunn carried the ball 11 times for 55 yards. He also added four catches for 13 yards. He had a run of 17 yards but fumbled at the end of the run and Carolina recovered. At the end of the first half, Harrington threw to Dunn three straight times in the Carolina red zone. They didn't pick up a first down so Atlanta kicked a field goal. Dunn had another carry in the red zone late in the game. He picked up five yards to the ten yard line. The drive ended in another field goal.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 6 - 32 - 0, Rec: 3 - 34 - 0 (4 targets) |
Norwood carried the ball six times for 32 yards. He broke off a 26 yard run which included a face mask penalty on Carolina. The play got the ball down to the Carolina 21 yard line and set up the second Atlanta touchdown. He got just two red zone carries. Norwood had two carries brought back due to penalty negating 19 rushing yards. He caught three passes for 34 yards. Norwood also handled the kickoff return duties and had a couple of good returns. He had a return of 46 yards and another of 44 yards, which ended up being brought back due to an Atlanta penalty.
| RB Ovie Mughelli, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Mughelli caught one pass for five yards.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 7 - 127 - 1 (9 targets) |
White had a career day, catching seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came on a short pass to the left. White broke a tackle at the 50 yard line and raced the rest of the way for the touchdown. Of his seven passes, White picked up four first downs. White received just one red zone target but the pass was incomplete.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 6 - 76 - 0 (8 targets) |
Jenkins caught six passes for 76 yards. He picked up four first downs in the game. With Atlanta down 10-7, Jenkins caught two passes for 45 yards. The Falcons tied the game with a field goal on that drive. Later in the game, he caught a nine yard pass that got the ball down to the Carolina 15 yard line. It was his only time with the ball in the red zone. The drive ended in an Atlanta field goal.
| WR Joe Horn, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (8 targets) |
Horn caught three passes 36 yards. Late in the game, with the Falcons down by ten points, Horn dropped a touchdown pass on a ball that he usually catches. It was his only red zone opportunity.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 6 - 63 - 1 (6 targets) |
Crumpler was targeted six times in the game. He caught all six passes for 63 yards and a score. With Atlanta at the Carolina 19 yard line, Harrington hit Crumpler for a six yard pass. On the next play, he caught a short pass and was able to score after he broke a tackle at the ten yard line. Overall, Crumpler got four red zone targets in the game.
| TE Martrez Milner, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Milner caught a pass for seven yards. It was his only target of the game. The catch was the first of Milner's career.
| PK Morten Andersen 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Andersen made both of his extra point attempts. He hit field goals from 24 and 25 yards. In the first quarter, Atlanta drove to the Carolina 17 yard line. On the field goal attempt, Michael Koenen fumbled the snap and Andersen wasn't able to attempt the kick.
| ATL Rush Defense |
The Atlanta rushing defense was run all over by DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams. The defense gave up 176 rushing yards on 32 carries including 122 yards by Foster. They just could not stop Foster when they needed it the most. Late in the game, Foster ran hard and picked up key first downs to run out the clock. Earlier in the game, Foster had a ten yard touchdown run when the defense had him at the five but could not stop his progress to the goal line. Foster carried Lawyer Milloy into the end zone. DeAngelo Williams averaged over four yards a carry, gaining 47 yards on 11 carries. Overall, Carolina picked up 11 first downs on the ground.
| ATL Pass Defense |
The Atlanta passing defense was playing well early on in the game. DeAngelo Hall was covering Steve Smith exclusively. He had him shut down early but when Hall lost his cool, the momentum seemed to shift to Carolina. Hall was penalized 67 yards on one drive that allowed Carolina to score a touchdown that tied the game 17-17. The Atlanta defense didn't have an interception but they did record four sacks. John Abraham had two of the sacks. While the defense did give up two passing touchdowns, one of them was on a nicely thrown ball by Delhomme. He lofted it perfectly to Foster, who caught it right on the edge of the end zone. The play was reviewed and upheld when the review showed Foster got his second foot down with an inch to spare. It was basically an unstoppable touchdown throw.
