Cam Newton squandered away the ball in the waning moments Sunday, and the Atlanta Falcons did not squander the opportunity, rallying to use a 40-yard field goal by Matt Bryant to move to 4-0 with a 30-28 victory at the Georgia Dome.
After squandering a 24-14 lead in the second half to the Carolina Panthers, the Falcons needed Newton to put the ball on the turf to even have a chance — and they still faced long odds when the Panthers downed a punt at the Atlanta 1 with 1:09 remaining.
Ryan had no timeouts and surely some doubt about how much time his beleaguered offensive line would give him; he was sacked seven times. But he dropped back about as far as he could, threw it about as far as he could, and relied on Roddie White to go up and make the catch.
He did, between two defenders to get things going. Ryan masterfully negotiated the clock from there, setting up Bryant’s kick that won it with 5 seconds remaining
“We made the plays when we needed to,” said Ryan, who passed for 369 yards and three touchdowns. “That’s what you need to do week to week in this league.”The Falcons (4-0) are off to their best start since 2004, when they reached the NFC championship game.This was their stiffest challenge yet.
“That was exciting. Whew!” said coach Mike Smith finally able to exhale.
“Every time it looked bleak, every time it looked like we didn’t have a chance, we were able to overcome it.”
Newton threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score. But he let the ball slip away when it looked as though he had clinched the victory for the Panthers (1-3).
“You have to protect the football,” Newton said. “That was a key focus going into this game, and I fumbled. There’s a lot of guys that are trusting the ball carrier, and I was the ball carrier that particular play to get the job done. And I dropped the ball.”
On third-and-2 at the Atlanta 46, Newton took the snap and bulled his way over the left side, his body surging across the spot needed for the first down. On the sideline, several of the Panthers broke into a celebration. But John Abraham knocked it loose, the ball squirting backward. Fullback Mike Tolbert covered it for Carolina at the 45 — 1 yard shy of a first down.
After attempting unsuccessfully to draw the Falcons offside, the Panthers punted it away. The time and distance seemed to be too much for the Falcons. But it was not.
