Atlanta Falcons

Panthers Three Takeaways: Week 16 vs. Falcons

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:30 a.m. ET

Fansided, Zachary Lange/FanSided via Cat Crave

Despite being home for the holidays, the Carolina Panthers fell to the Atlanta Falcons by a final score of 33-16 on Christmas Eve.

In a rare scheduling weekend where a majority of games were played on Saturday, the Carolina Panthers were defeated and officially eliminated from playoff contention by the Atlanta Falcons.

Matt Ryan was surgical yet again, going 27-of-33 for 277 yards and two scores against an unstable Panthers secondary. While star wide receiver Julio Jones was held to four catches for 60 yards the spread of equal opportunity for the Falcons offense proved too much to handle for Carolina.

Now the Panthers turn towards another upset of a division rival in Tampa Bay, who at 8-7 isn’t officially eliminated from the playoff picture but would need several other outcomes to take place in order to secure a postseason bid.

While the Panthers can’t finish with a .500 record, they will look to finish strong in the final game on New Year’s Day.

Dec 24, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (28) gets tackled by Atlanta Falcons middle linebacker Deion Jones (45) in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. The Falcons defeated the Panthers 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Playing From Behind All Day

Offensively for the Panthers, the game was largely a misfire. For the entirety of the game, Carolina was forced to play catchup after falling into a quick 13-0 deficit. With only two red zone opportunities the entire game that resulted in a mere six points, there was little hope for the Panthers to claw back into the contest.

“Probably the biggest thing we didn’t do was we got into the red zone and we didn’t put the ball into the end zone. You score 16 points means you kicked three field goals. You are not going to beat good teams by kicking field goals,” commented head coach Ron Rivera postgame.

In many divisional showdowns this season, the Panthers have fallen quickly to multi score deficits that proved too large to overcome. Playing catchup from the beginning has severely hurt the Panthers all season, having dropped five games by a score differential of three points or less.

Had many early defensive breakdowns never occurred the Panthers season very well could have played out differently.

Dec 24, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) talks with head coach Ron Rivera in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. The Falcons defeated the Panthers 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

An Offensive Evolution

Yet again this week, quarterback Cam Newton had a poor performance. Newton finished Saturday going a measly 18-of-43 for 198 yards with two interceptions. Given the benefit of the doubt, the offensive line was using their fifth different starter combination this season but on multiple occasions the decision making and lack of proper footwork led to poor throws and turnovers.

When asked about the potential changes in Newton’s game, Rivera was vague in addressing the problem stating, “You have to evolve. Things are going to change after six seasons.”

“When this is all done, we’ll take a look back at some things and see what we’ve got to do as we go forward.”

It is unclear what change is going to be made, but reading between the lines, it seems to potentially suggest that offensive coordinator Mike Shula will be released of his duties at the end of the season.

Newton along with the offense have clearly regressed from last season. Currently, Carolina is 19th in total offense which is down from 11th last season with both passing and rushing yardage down between the seasons as well. In fact, Newton himself is set to have record lows in just about every statistical category that exist, including completion percentage and passer rating.

Evolving may help some of Newton’s game but personnel change is really what seems to be in order for Carolina.

Dec 24, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen (88) stands on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. The Falcons defeated the Panthers 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Record Breaking Performance

Looking at the positives from Saturday’s game it is easy to see one standout on the team and that is tight end Greg Olsen.

Olsen, who is in the running for the 2016 Walter Peyton Man of the Year award, became the first tight end in NFL history to have three consecutive 1,000 receiving

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yard seasons. Since coming to Carolina in 2011 for a third round draft pick, Olsen has seen a continual increase in productivity that has led to the brand new record.

“He (Olsen) has been nothing but a great warrior for us on this football team. It doesn’t surprise me that he has accomplished what he has being a part of what we do,” commented Rivera.

On what it takes to set a record such as this, Olsen remained humble stating, “I’m never the flashiest guy or anything like that, but just be productive. Be productive consistently, be reliable, be durable. There are so many things that go in to just having the opportunity to put up those numbers 3 years in a row. A big part of it is just playing every game, every snap.”

“To accomplish something that no one else has in this position, I’ll be able to forever hold on to that as my career comes to an end.”

“He (Olsen) has made my life easy, extremely easy. It’s just the little things,” remarked Newton.

If Olsen can come up with 49 yards on Sunday, it would mark back to back 1,100 yard seasons for the man who many in Carolina have come to love.

To wrap up the season on New Year’s Day, the Carolina Panthers travel to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers.