Carolina Panthers’ run at perfect season comes undone in Atlanta

Atlanta Falcons 20 Carolina Panthers 13

The Carolina Panthers' perfect season ended when they were beaten 20-13 by the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on Sunday night. With one mighty leap, Atlanta's star receiver Julio Jones jumped over two Carolina defenders and snagged a 70-yard pass from quarterback Matt Ryan for the go-ahead score. The Falcons handed the Panthers their first loss and, for now, kept them from clinching home-field advantage in the NFC play-offs.

The Carolina Panthers had the ball with a chance to win and remain undefeated, but their dynamic quarterback, Cam Newton, in a dream season, saw his team’s chances evaporate when he was stripped of the ball with just over a minute remaining. The Falcons ended up recovering the fumble, and held on to win in Atlanta.

That the loss came because of a mistake by Newton was especially jarring. He has had a breakthrough season in which nearly everything has gone right. The Panthers came into the game 14-0, and Newton is the front-runner for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award based not just on his passing and running, but also on his leadership.

"This is part of the journey," Panthers coach Ron Rivera told reporters after the game. "We have to refocus. But we've accomplished a lot. Let's not lose sight of that."

In a tightly contested game, the Falcons took the lead late in the third quarter when the All-Pro receiver Jones hauled in a 70-yard touchdown pass from Ryan. He was double-covered on the play by Cortland Finnegan and Luke Kuechly, but a nickel cornerback and a linebacker were not enough against Jones, who, as Finnegan fell down, reached over Kuechly's hands to grab the ball and run it in for the score.

It was part of a tremendous effort by Jones, who got the better of Josh Norman, Carolina's shutdown cornerback. Despite being covered by Norman for much of the day, Jones finished the game with nine catches for 178 yards. The Panthers kept things alive by kicking a field goal with just under eight minutes left in the game, bringing the score to 14-13, but Shayne Graham kicked two field goals for Atlanta, the second of which came with one minute, 30 seconds remaining.

Carolina's drive to try to save its perfect season ended quickly as Vic Beasley stripped Newton on the second play of the drive, with Adrian Clayborn recovering the ball. Atlanta then twice took a knee to seal the victory.

In a season that collapsed after some early optimism, the game was a rare bright point for Atlanta. Ryan finished with 306 passing yards against one of the league’s best defences and Devonta Freeman chipped in 73 rushing yards and a touchdown.

“We didn’t coach to our abilities, we didn’t play to our abilities,” Rivera told reporters. “But give them credit.”

With the loss, the 1972 Miami Dolphins and 2007 New England Patriots remain the only teams to have completed a perfect regular season. Carolina still has a chance next week to become the sixth team to finish 15-1.

(New York Times and agencies)