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What happened in Falcons road win against Panthers in Week 6

The Falcons move to 4-2 on the season after their Week 6 game against the Panthers.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Atlanta Falcons had their first runaway victory of the season, defeating the Carolina Panthers, 38-20, on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

Every game recap this 2024 season will be broken down by quarter for right-at-the-buzzer consumption. To get things going, Atlanta won the coin toss (4-2 in that regard) and deferred to the second half. This was a different approach than last week, when the Falcons opted to receive the opening kickoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Win Game Breakdown (1) 16x9

FIRST QUARTER

The game started with back-to-back three-and-outs, but the Panthers put the first points on the board with their second drive. Their scoring drive took 12 plays and covered 67 yards. Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton completed a 10-yard pass to wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell was in coverage.

Dalton was 6 of 8 on that drive for 66 passing yards. Forty-six of those yards went to Johnson.

What was interesting about that drive for Atlanta, it had defensive tackles Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata drop back into the middle zone for pass coverage on separate plays in the red zone. Onyemata did so on the scoring play, but he stumbled in the process, which prevented him from occupying the throwing lane in time.

The Falcons nearly stopped the drive altogether a few plays earlier., Falcons safety Jessie Bates III intercepted Dalton, but a defensive offsides penalty on outside linebacker Matthew Judon negated the turnover.

Atlanta's offense immediately answered Carolina's score with a touchdown of its own. Running back Bijan Robinson scored on a 5-yard run, capping off a 12-play, 70-yard drive to tie things up with less than a minute remaining in the quarter.

Robinson had two runs during that drive for 10 yards. Running back Tyler Allgeier had four consecutive carries for 7, 9, 9 and 1 yard in order. The offensive line created massive holes for him to run through.

The Panthers got one play off before the end of the quarter.

SCORING PLAYS

Panthers: Andy Dalton 10-yard pass to Diontae Johnson; PAT good … 7-0, CAR

Falcons: Bijan Robinson 5-yard run; PAT good … 7-7, ALL

END Q1: Falcons 7, Panthers 7

SECOND QUARTER

The Panthers' drive that began in the first quarter ended in a three-and-out, but the Falcons' offense mustered just six plays before turning the ball over. Cousins completed an 8-yard pass to wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III, who fumbled the ball while reaching forward for a first down. Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace recovered it.

At first, McCloud was ruled down after his catch and appeared to have control of the ball until he hit the turf. The Panthers challenged the play, though. And upon further review, the call was reversed to a fumble.

Carolina used the turnover to retake the lead. Kicker Eddy Pineiro made a 24-yard field goal after an eight-play, 36-yard drive stalled out at the Atlanta 5-yard line. An incomplete pass on third-and-5, forced by good pressure from the Falcons' pass rushers, brought up the fourth down.

The Panthers' lead didn't last long. Robinson scored on a 7-yard run on the next drive, which lasted five plays for 76 yards. Tight end Kyle Pitts' 52-yard reception covered the majority of the distance. Panthers cornerback Chau Smith-Wade was penalized for a low block on the scoring play, and the Falcons chose to use that penalty to move to the 1-yard line for a 2-point conversion.. Allgeier pushed through to the end zone, validating the decision.

Carolina punted on its ensuing drive. Falcons defensive lineman Zach Harrison got a hand on the punt, and cornerback Clark Phillips III returned it 15 yards to the Panthers' 37-yard line. There was an offensive holding penalty on the play that gave Atlanta another 10 yards, so the Falcons' offense had prime starting position when it came out.

The Falcons covered the remaining 27 yards quickly, too. On the fifth play of the drive, Cousins completed a 3-yard pass to wide receiver Drake London in the end zone to pad their lead with less than two minutes until halftime.

That's all the Panthers needed to score. They strung together an eight-play, 76-yard drive to tighten the score right before the midway mark. Dalton completed a 7-yard pass to wide receiver Xavier Legette.

The Falcons held a five-point lead when they headed to the locker room.

SCORING PLAYS

Panthers: Eddy Pineiro 24-yard field goal … 10-7, CAR

Falcons: Bijan Robinson 7-yard run; 2-point run … 15-10, ATL

Falcons: Kirk Cousins 3-yard pass to Drake London; PAT good … 22-10, ATL

Panthers: Andy Dalton 7-yard pass to Xavier Legette; PAT good … 22-17, ATL

HALFTIME: Falcons 22, Panthers 17

THIRD QUARTER

The Falcons opened the second half with the ball, marching 67 yards downfield on 11 plays. They made it all the way to the Panthers' 3-yard line where two plays fell short of a touchdown. Allgeier was stopped at the line of scrimmage on a run up the middle, and London was unable to make a tough catch in the end zone. Kicker Younghoe Koo came out and converted a 21-yard field goal.

The Panthers matched the Falcons' field goal with a 41-yarder of their own. It took Carolina 11 plays to cover 48 yards. The Panthers got behind the chains on first down because of an offensive holding penalty that cost them 10 yards.

Atlanta made it to the Carolina red zone but fell short of a touchdown again, this time by 13 yards. Koo hit a 31-yard field goal on fourth-and-11 to extend the Falcons' lead to eight points. Much like the Panthers on their previous drive, the Falcons were behind the chains after a first-down offensive holding penalty on right guard Chris Lindstrom. Cousins tried to close the gap but gained just 3 and 4 yards on completions to Allgeier and London, respectively. His third-down pass attempt to Pitts was incomplete. That drive was 10 plays for 57 yards.

The Panthers' offense was at its own 12-yard line when the quarter concluded.

SCORING PLAYS

Falcons: Younghoe Koo 21-yard field goal … 25-17, ATL

Panthers: Eddy Pineiro 41-yard field goal … 25-20, ATL

END Q3: Falcons 28, Panthers 20

FOURTH QUARTER

Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard was rolling to start the final quarter, picking up 34 yards on four consecutive carries. Dalton then completed a 12-yard pass to Johnson before giving the ball back to Hubbard for a 2-yard run. Dalton tried to go deep after that, but instead of finding tight end Ian Thomas, his pass was intercepted by Terrell. The return was just 1 yard and put the Falcons at their own 16-yard line.

Atlanta's offense turned that turnover into a touchdown. Allgeier scored on a 2-yard run. The drive consisted of nine plays and spanned 84 yards. Allgeier was responsible for five plays for 48 yards. He had a long run of 20 yards that put him just 2 yards short of the end zone. Cousins attempted to connect with Mooney after that, but the pass was a bit too high. That's when Allgeier got the ball back and extended the Falcons' lead to 15 points.

The Panthers failed to close that gap at all on their next drive. They turned the ball over on downs after attempting to convert a fourth-and-4. Dalton's pass to Johnson was incomplete. The drive's four plays only totaled 6 yards.

The Falcons then improved their lead by three points when Koo made a 35-yard field goal. The scoring drive went for six plays and 19 yards. Allgeier ran the ball on every play, breaking off two runs of 8 yards on the drive. There were two minutes and 15 seconds left on the clock when the Falcons kicked off, not giving the Panthers much time to at least diminish the Falcons' margin of victory.

Phillips guaranteed that Atlanta's lead would remain intact with an interception off Dalton on the Panthers' second play of their final drive. Phillips returned the pick 45 yards. It looked like he could have scored, but he chose to go down at the 6-yard line so the offense could run the clock out.

SCORING PLAYS

Falcons: Tyler Allgeier 2-yard run; PAT good … 35-20, ATL

Falcons: Younghoe Koo 35-yard field goal ... 38-20, ATL

FINAL: Falcons 38, Panthers 20

Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium during Week 6, presented by Grady.

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