Cam Newton smiled. As time wound down in a winner-take-all game that turned into a no-care-in-the-world laugher, the Carolina Panthers quarterback waved his arms up and down and nodded.
On the Atlanta Falcons sideline, Matt Ryan grimaced.
The seven-win Panthers are headed to the NFL playoffs.
The six-win Falcons are not.
Carolina returned two Ryan interceptions for touchdowns and scored 21 points off turnovers in a 34-3 rout of the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday.
Leading since the game's first possession, the Panthers (7-8-1) clinched the NFC South for the second year in a row with the lopsided victory.
They harassed Ryan all day, piling up six sacks. But the Falcons quarterback hurt himself, too.
His overthrown pass was returned 31 yards for a touchdown by Roman Harper in the second quarter to help the Panthers build a 24-3 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Tre Boston picked off an underthrown pass and took it back 84 yards to put the game away.
[SportsNetwork.com]
