NFL Recap (Carolina-Atlanta)
Posted: Sun October 4, 1998 at 6:25 p.m. EDT
ATLANTA 51, CAROLINA 23
ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Carolina Panthers proved
they may be every bit as bad as their 0-4 record indicates.
Rookie Tim Dwight
returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to set the tone and
the Atlanta Falcons
scored three touchdowns in a 44-second span of the third quarter in a 51-23
rout of the Panthers. The Falcons (3-1) completed a season sweep of
Carolina and moved into a three-way tie with San Francisco and New Orleans
for first place in the NFC West. Atlanta beat Carolina, 19-14, in its
season opener.
The 51 points were the most scored in the NFL this season and the most
in franchise history since the Falcons scored 62 points against New Orleans
on September 16th, 1973.
The Panthers committed six turnovers on four fumbles and two
interceptions, which the Falcons converted into 27 points.
"That was a great win for us," said Atlanta coach Dan Reeves. "I think
anytime you get six turnovers, it's almost impossible for you not to win.
This is the closest we've come to having all three phases of our team play
well."
Dwight received John
Kasay's kick at his own seven-yard line before breaking left behind a
formidable wedge. He sprinted up the sideline virtually untouched,
speeding past Kasay and a group of Carolina defenders, who could only
follow the fleet-footed 23-year-old into the end zone as Atlanta jumped out
to a 7-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game and never looked back.
"I'm so small, it's hard for guys to pick up on me behind the wedge,"
said the 5-8, 184-pound Dwight. "Having some speed helps. I just go out
there and play and have fun. Any time I can get my hands on the ball and
help this team win, I'm happy."
Dwight was the first Falcon to return a kickoff for a touchdown since
Byron Hanspard returned
a pair for scores last season. Hanspard, who is on injured reserve, had a
93-yard return last November 30th at Seattle and added a 97-yarder the
following week at San Diego. He scored his first NFL touchdown on a 44-yard
catch in the season opener at Carolina.
Atlanta quarterback Chris Chandler finished the
game 12-for-20 for 189 yards and tossed a pair of touchdowns, including a
30-yard strike to Tony
Martin in the second quarter which extended Atlanta's lead to 14-0.
Chandler, who also had two passes intercepted, has thrown for a touchdown
in a team-record 16 consecutive games.
Jamal Anderson
rushed for 113 yards on 30 carries and scored on a 20-yard touchdown run
with just over six minutes remaining in the game, which widened the gap to
45-15.
Morten Andersen
added three field goals for the Falcons, tying him with Nick Lowery for the
second-most in NFL history with 383. Gary Anderson holds the
all-time mark with 393 three-pointers.
With his team trailing 17-3 at the half, Carolina tight end Luther Broughton's fumble
at the Atlanta 22-yard line was the first in a trio of costly turnovers for
the Panthers.
After cornerback Ronnie Bradford fell on
the loose ball, the Falcons began an 11-play, 78-yard drive which was
capped by fullback Bob
Christian's one-yard touchdown plunge with 6:27 remaining in the third
quarter, making the score 24-3.
Ironically, Christian, a seventh-year player from Northwestern, scored
the first touchdown in Carolina history on a 16-yard reception in the
Hall-of-Fame game at Canton in July of 1995.
After the ensuing kickoff, Fred Lane fumbled into the
waiting arms of Travis
Hall on Carolina's next play from scrimmage. Chandler proceeded to find
tight end O.J. Santiago
on a 26-yard post pattern on the next play as Atlanta widened the gap to
31-3 with 6:01 left in the quarter.
Things got worse as safety William White scored his
fourth career touchdown after scooping up receiver Muhsin Muhammed's fumble
on the Panthers' first play of the ensuing drive and returning it 18 yards
as the Falcons opened the lead to 38-3 at 5:39 of the third, completing the
trilogy of disaster.
"We talked about when you have a team down, not to let them up," said
White. "I was just fortunate enough to be able to be in a position to make
the play."
White, an 11-year veteran, added an interception of Carolina
quarterback Kerry
Collins with just over two minutes remaining in the game to set up
Anderson's last field goal.
"We were sloppy," said Panthers coach Dom Capers. "They came out and
set the tempo from the opening kickoff and played hard for 60 minutes. We
lost our poise in the third quarter. Any time you turn the ball over six
times to two, you have a chance of what happened today happening to your
football team."
Collins threw three second-half touchdowns, a 72-yarder to Muhammed, a
five-yard toss to Mark
Carrier and 24-yard pass to tight end Wesley Walls, giving the
lopsided contest a more respectable final score. Collins finished the game
with 302 yards on 20-of-38 passing with two interceptions.
"We got our butts beat," said Collins. "We made a lot of mistakes.
They scored touchdowns off our mistakes. We're terrible, we're bad. We
were embarrassed."
Falcons backup Steve DeBerg, the oldest player in the NFL at 44 years
of age, entered the game late in the fourth quarter and completed his first
pass since the 1993 season on a five-yard out pattern to Gary Downs.
Carolina actually held the edge in total yardage, 346-334, most of
which was amassed in garbage time in the fourth quarter.
Carrier's touchdown was his first of the season and came after
cornerback Rod Smith
intercepted an errant Chandler pass and returned it 43 yards to the Atlanta
16.
Carolina linebacker Greg Lloyd picked off
Chandler in the first quarter, recording his first interception since 1995,
when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dwight and Chandler were involved in a bit of trickery devised by
Reeves in the first half.
With just over two minutes remaining, Chandler handed off to Dwight on
an apparent reverse before spirinting out to the left sideline where he
received a perfect crossfield toss from his own wideout and rumbled down
the sideline before being knocked out of bounds at the Carolina five after
a 22-yard gain.
After the drive stalled, Andersen made a 23-yard field goal to give
the Falcons a 17-3 lead at the break.
Atlanta evened the all-time series between the teams, 4-4.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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