ATLANTA – The Carolina Panthers’ run at a perfect regular season ended with a far from a perfect effort.
They gave up too many big plays, none bigger than a 70-yard touchdown to Julio Jones in the second half. They didn’t make enough, dropping first down passes like the one to tight end Greg Olsen with just under seven minutes to go.
Quarterback Cam Newton struggled throughout. He was throwing high during warmups and it continued in the game.
Newton finished with a passer rating of 69.0 after throwing five touchdown passes in three of his last five games.