Plays to Love http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-taylor-moton-jersey , Plays to Hate (aka “P2L, P2H”) looks at the most significant plays in swinging momentum and impacting the eventual outcome of the game. There is always plenty to hate about NFL officiating, so we will only focus on the plays on the field, not the refs.Three plays to love2nd Quarter 10:28 – Panthers 3, Falcons 3. Panthers ball 3rd-and-5 at ATL 15The Situation: The Panthers faced third down in the red zone, looking for a touchdown instead of a field goal attempt. The Play: Cam Newton dropped to pass, felt pressure, and rolled out of the pocket to buy time. Cam then threw against his body - on the run - to Devin Funchess for a first down. The play extended the drive which ended in a touchdown instead of a field goal attempt. Just incredible athleticism, strength, and smarts from an elite quarterback. 3rd Quarter 14:20 – Panthers 10, Falcons 17. Falcons ball 1st-and-10 at CAR 39The Situation: The Falcons took a seven point lead into the half then started the third quarter with the ball. Their first play was a 30-yard gain to the Carolina 39, then Wes Horton came up big on the next play.The Play: Matt Ryan dropped back to throw a bomb to a streaking Julio Jones, but Wes Horton appeared to contact Ryan’s arm on the release. Ryan’s pass looked more like a punt and Donte Jackson was able to come down with an easy interception.4th Quarter 2:30 – Panthers 17, Falcons 31. Panthers ball 1st-and-10 at CAR 49The Situation: The game looked just about over with Carolina trailing by two touchdowns and the two-minute warning drawing near, but then D.J. Moore happened. The Play: D.J. Moore ran a deep in route over the middle, caught the pass, shook off a tackler, then sprinted 51-yards for a momentum-shifting score. The play pulled the Panthers deficit to just seven points and gave the team one last shot at a late comeback. Three plays to hate2nd Quarter 7:25 – Panthers 10, Falcons 3. Falcons ball 3rd-and-9 at ATL 26The Situation: Call this the “Donte Jackson Implosion Sequence.” The Play: On 3rd-and-9 Daryl Williams Jersey , Matt Ryan’s pass fell incomplete to force an apparent punt, but Donte Jackson was called for (a questionable) pass interference to extend the drive. Two plays later Donte got juked at the line of scrimmage by Tevin Coleman who ran for 36 yards to the Carolina 24. The drive ended when Calvin Ridley beat Jackson in man coverage for a touchdown. Horrible sequence by the rookie cornerback. 3rd Quarter 13:01 – Panthers 10, Falcons 17. Panthers ball 3rd-and-2 at CAR 10The Situation: The Panthers offense took possession on the Carolina 2 following Donte Jackson’s interception. Three plays later they faced 3rd-and-2 from the 10, hoping to convert a first down and avoid punting from their own end zone. The Play: Devin Funchess ran past the first down sticks and Cam delivered a beautiful ball to his back shoulder, just past the defender. But instead of catching it, Funch let the ball bounce off his shoulder pad for an incompletion on a pass he absolutely must catch. This play led to a domino effect of: 1) Punting from the end zone, 2) The Falcons fair catching the punt at the Atlanta 42, and 3) Atlanta capitalizing on the good field position to eventually score a touchdown for a 24-10 lead. 4rd Quarter 6:26 – Panthers 17, Falcons 31. Panthers ball 1st-and-10 at ATL 22The Situation: The Panthers ripped off 53 yards on consecutive passes to Devin Funchess and Torrey Smith to get near the red zone, finally getting some momentum. Trailing by two touchdowns in the fourth, Carolina desperately needed a score. The Play: C.J. Anderson ran a short route, turned around, and was hit right in the hands with a perfect dump-off pass from Cam. But the ball went right through Anderson’s hands and off his shoulder pad where it then popped up into the air and was intercepted by Ricardo Allen. This play was an absolute killer on a drive where the Panthers were getting so close to a much-needed fourth quarter score. Bonus play to both love and hate4th Quarter 8:11 – Panthers 17, Falcons 24. Falcons ball 2nd-and-2 at CAR 5The Situation: Atlanta led by seven early in the fourth quarter. They sustained a long drive that put them just five yards away from a touchdown to go up by 14. Carolina’s D needed a huge play. The Play: Ito Smith took a handoff off right tackle and Kawann Short knocked the ball out of his hands, forcing a fumble. For one beautiful, glorious, hope-filled moment the ball bounced around on the turf waiting for someone to jump on it. This was perhaps Carolina’s last best shot to slow down a Falcon’s offense that had dominated them all day. When a fumble hits the ground it’s usually a 50-50 proposition if the offense or defense will recover. In the end, Atlanta’s Brandon Fusco fell on the ball and the Falcons scored a touchdown on the very next play to take a 31-17 lead. The game could have been totally different if the Panthers recover this fumble. I “loved” the play by KK Short but “hated” the fact the Panthers couldn’t come up with the fumble and prevent another Atlanta score. Closing it out and summing it upThis was a fairly predictable loss. Disappointing, yes Authentic Ian Thomas Jersey , but at the same time the sky isn’t falling quite yet. Jarius Wright continues to impress while Christian McCaffrey is quickly becoming the only consistently viable offensive weapon. The patchwork offensive line held up fairly well considering our starting left tackle Chris Clark was signed four days before the game. On defense, James Bradberry should be commended for the part he played in limiting Julio Jones to just five receptions (on nine targets) for 64 yards and zero touchdowns. There were many negatives in this game though. The normally dominant front four was shockingly bad, registering zero sacks on Matt Ryan (on 28 attempts) and rarely even pressuring the Falcons QB while also getting destroyed by Atlanta’s rushing attack. If the front four plays like this the rest of the season, Carolina has no shot at the playoffs. Every wide receiver minus Jarius Wright has been pretty bad so far. It seems Carolina’s receivers are almost never wide open and completions only happen when Cam throws a perfect pass. The 1-1 Panthers hope to right the ship against a suddenly frisky 2-0 Cincinnati Bengals team next week. Let’s hope the front four and the wide receivers show up this time. Plays to love season leaders1 - Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Kawann Short, Mario Addison, Wes HortonPlays to hate season leaders1 - Amini Silatolu, C.J. Anderson, Christian McCaffrey, Devin Funchess, Donte Jackson, Mike Adams This week I spoke with Dave Choate over at the Falcoholic. He’s the guy for responsible for doling out reports on the misery of their long suffering fan base. We try not to make fun of him too much, for the record, because there isn’t much left to say after Tom Brady used their lunch money from Super Bowl LI to buy a curse on Julio Jones for the rest of his career. It is a sore subject.Cat Scratch Reader: Have you filed a missing persons report for Julio Jones’ red zone targets yet?CSR: What’s the biggest change in the Falcons from last year and why is it that Matt Ryan is channeling Eli Manning?CSR: Y’all lost Keanu Neal for the season. That sucks.CSR:Assume the Panthers have a one possession lead with less than four minutes left in the game. How confident are you in the Falcons’ ability to score when the Panthers inevitably give them multiple chances to do so?CSR:What is your prediction for this game?Here’s to hoping Dave there is underestimating Christian McCaffrey’s ability to replace Greg Olsen’s production in a way that stresses the Falcon’s injured positions. I do, however, share his belief that his game isn’t going to be pretty. What division games are?