Atlanta Fends Off Carolina, 28-20

NFL News - September 20th, 2009 - Written by John

Jake Delhomme was better, but it still wasn't enough to give the Panthers their first win of the year.

Delhomme recovered from his Week One fiasco where he turned the ball over five times before being benched in Carolina's 38-10 loss to Philadelphia. He improved to the tune of 308 yards and almost had more in the game's final seconds when he threw up a desperation Hail Mary into the end zone. The ball was tipped and wide out Dwayne Jarrett had a great chance at making the catch. But as he sprawled out, the ball fell just out of reach and the Panthers fell to 0-2 with a 28-20 loss.

He was able to recreate some chemistry with Steve Smith, something that had been missing recently. Smith only had 21 yards receiving in the Week One loss but had more than that on the game's second play when Delhomme lofted a go-route and Smith hauled it in for 27. He would then go on to rip the Atlanta secondary for 131 yards on eight catches, an average of 16.4 per.

Matt Ryan had three touchdown passes for Atlanta to put the game out of reach early. First it was Tony Gonzalez, who made a great catch over the middle before racing into the end zone to make it 7-3. Then, after a DeAngelo Williams scamper made it 10-7, Ryan drove his team down to the 10 before hooking up with Jason Snelling. After a John Kasay 50-yard field goal, Ryan took the lead to 21-13 just before the half when he hit Roddy White on a seven-yard slant for another score.

Michael Turner, who was mostly irrelevant in last week's win over Miami, scored his first touchdown of the year on a one-yard plunge. Turner finished the day with 105 yards on 16 carries, and was spelled with Snelling, who had 37 yards on six touches.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/