Sunday, November 23, 2008

Atlanta 31-21 in rollercoaster 4th quarter

The Falcons just scored -- again! -- in this crazy fourth quarter. Michael Turner's one-yard run on fourth-and-goal from the 1 put Atlanta up 31-21 and will now make it very difficult for Carolina to come back with only 7:16 left in the game.

The Panthers seemed to be about to get the ball back when Atlanta had a third-and-10 deep in its own territory. But Harry Douglas, a virtual unknown who has been hurting the Panthers all day, went 69 yards on a 20-yard pass from Matt Ryan, breaking a couple of poor tackles along the way.

That got Atlanta inside the Panthers' 5, but Carolina stopped the Falcons on three plays. On fourth down, coach Mike Smith made the aggressive call to go for it, knowing that a field goal would only give Atlanta a 27-21 lead and make it a one-possession game.

The Panthers used their first timeout, but it didn't help. Turner, one of the best bruisers in the league, powered over from the left side standing up. It was his third TD of the afternoon and leaves Carolina about one offensive turnover away from this game being over.

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