ATLANTA (FOX 46 WJZY) - The Carolina Panthers struggled in their first away game of the season against the Atlanta Falcons.
Each team hit field goals at the start of the game, leaving the score tied at the end of the first quarter.
Carolina's Dontae Jackson also gave the team some power at the start of the game, making five tackles in the first 15.
Carolina also got an offensive boost after Falcons safety Damonte Kazee was ejected for a headshot that too Cam Newton to the ground hard as he tried to make a run with the ball.
Wide receiver Jarius Wright scored the first touchdown of the game after a quick pass from Cam in the second quarter. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ended for Carolina.
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The Falcons' offense came in strong, returning the Panthers touchdown, bringing the score back to a tie at 10-10. They scored again at the end of Q2, leading Carolina 17-10 at the half.
In the third quarter, Atlanta's tight offense went in for their third touchdown, leaving the Panthers trailing by 14.
Carolina did come back with a touchdown caught in the red zone by wide receiver Torrey Smith, but defense just couldn't stop the Falcons' quick-moving O-line, allowing quarterback Matt Ryan to run it in, bringing the score to 31-17.
In a painful moment, running back CJ Anderson missed a clean pass from Cam that could have resulted in a bid run. It bounced out of Anderson's hands, right into the open arms of Falcons' safety Ricardo Allen.
In the final three minutes of the game rookie DJ Moore was able to pick up one more score for Carolina, catching a 51-yard pass from Cam. This was Moore's first career touchdown, but in the last five seconds of the game, he missed the winning catch, and the Panthers suffered a loss at 31-24.