Turnovers and injuries cost the Atlanta Falcons (5-4) the game on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers (4-5).  They lost their star running back, Michal Turner, who left in the second quarter with an ankle injury.  Turner was on his way to having a monster game, and had already rushed for 111 yards before leaving the game.  Quarterback Matt Ryan was very inaccurate all game and he was the main reason the Falcons found themselves down 21-10 at halftime.  Ryan had two costly interceptions too and finished the game with 224 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions on 22/41 attempts.  Ryan’s lone touchdown came early in the 4th quarter when he hit tight end Justin Peele with a 3-yard touchdown pass on 4th and one.  Ryan and the offense would fail to put any more points on the board though and the Falcons defense could not do enough to stop the Panthers.  Ryan really needs to pick it up and has now thrown at least one interception in six straight games.

Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme has been having a pretty terrible season, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from this game.  The Panthers went with the no-huddle offense often, and it seemed to put the Falcons’ defense on their heels.  They didn’t give up a ton of yards in the passing game (only 195 yards) but they let Delhomme go 15/24 for two touchdowns and failed to get any turnovers.  They were horrible at stopping the run, letting DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart run all over them.  They combined for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns on 30 carries.  The Falcons are a better football team than what they showed on Sunday, but they missed Michael Turner in the second half.  Jason Snelling did a good job filling in for him, finishing with 61 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, but he is no Turner.  The Falcons are going to really miss him if he is out, but Matt Ryan needs to get back on track either way.