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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers blanked the Atlanta Falcons for most of the final three quarters in a 20-17 victory Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium. Christian McCaffrey and Cam Newton scored on short touchdown runs as the Panthers (6-3) wiped out an early 10-0 hole to win for the second week in a row.
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Atlanta (4-4) had a chance when regaining possession at its own 21-yard line with 2:18 to play. Instead, the Falcons lost 3 yards and turned the ball over on downs.
Newton completed 13 of 24 passes for 137 yards. He was the game's leading rusher with 86 yards on nine carries.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan completed 24 of 38 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns.
The Falcons could have closed a 20-10 gap with less than 8 1/2 minutes to play. Ryan's fourth-down pass from the Carolina 39 was dropped near the back of the end zone by receiver Julio Jones without a Carolina defender even in the end zone.
On Atlanta's next possession, it worked quickly on a seven-play, 92-yard drive that culminated with Ryan's 19-yard touchdown pass to running back Tevin Coleman with 3:25 remaining.
During the second and third quarters combined, the Falcons picked up a total of four first downs.
It was Carolina's first game since a somewhat stunning trade of top receiver Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills. The Panthers didn't exactly light it up on offense, but the stingy defense did the job.
Carolina built a 20-10 lead on Graham Gano field goals of 31 and 45 yards on the team's first two possessions of the second half, giving the Panthers 20 unanswered points.
The Panthers scored twice in the final two minutes of the first half for a 14-10 lead.
Carolina had little spunk until stopping the Falcons on fourth-and-1 at the Panthers' 35 with 4:30 to play in the half. A pair of 15-yard penalties on Atlanta put the Panthers in position for McCaffrey's 4-yard touchdown play on a pitch from Newton.
Two plays later, safety Mike Adams picked off Ryan and his 40-yard return put the Panthers at the Atlanta 31 with 1:15 before halftime.
Newton's 5-yard scramble gave the Panthers the lead with 23 seconds to play.
Earlier, Jones gained 34 yards on a pass play on the game's first snap. That resulted in Matt Bryant's 53-yard field goal.
Atlanta's Mohamed Sanu caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ryan with 3:30 to play in the first quarter to complete an eight-play, 61-yard drive.
Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart fumbled twice in Atlanta territory in the first quarter, the first one recovered by safety Keanu Neal and the second one caused by Neal.
NOTES: The Panthers snapped a three-game skid in the series, though Atlanta leads the series 27-18. ... Panthers K Graham Gano has made 19 of 20 field-goal attempts this season, adding two successful boots Sunday. ... Carolina backup TE Chris Manhertz was placed in the concussion protocol in the first half. ... WR Brenton Bersin, who rejoined the Panthers during the week, was activated for the game. ... Atlanta LB Vic Beasley Jr. had one sack, pushing his total to 19.5 since 2016 for the second most in the NFC. ... The Falcons are home next Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. ... The Panthers' next game comes on Monday, Nov. 13 against visiting Miami.
