National Football League
Carolina 21, Atlanta 20
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 29, 2013
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: John Parry
Attendance: 70427

Panthers 21, Falcons 20: Cam Newton passed for two touchdowns and rushed for 72 yards as visiting Carolina locked up the NFC South title and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

The Panthers (12-4) racked up a franchise-record nine sacks and Melvin White returned an interception for a touchdown as Carolina dug out of an early 10-0 hole. Newton was 15-of-27 for 149 yards with TD passes to Greg Olsen and Ted Ginn Jr.

Matt Ryan finished 28-of-40 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Falcons (4-12). Roddy White caught eight passes for 91 yards and a score while Jason Snelling also had a TD reception.

Ryan's 9-yard touchdown pass to Snelling and Matt Bryant's 42-yard field goal gave the Falcons an early lead, but White jumped a route in the left flat and stumbled eight yards for a score to get Carolina on the board. Newton then led the Panthers 96 yards just before halftime, hitting Ginn for a 3-yard TD and a 14-0 halftime lead.

Atlanta went back in front on Ryan's 39-yard scoring strike over the top to White, but the Panthers answered with a 76-yard drive capped by Newton's 7-yard touchdown toss to Olsen for a 21-17 advantage. The Falcons had to settle for another field goal by Bryant on their next trip inside the red zone, and their last two series went nowhere.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Panthers would have earned the NFC's No. 1 seed had Seattle lost to St. Louis. ... DE Greg Hardy recorded four of Carolina's nine sacks, setting the single-game franchise record and tying Kevin Greene's single-season team mark of 15. … Olsen's 73 catches are the most in a season by a Panthers tight end, breaking his own record of 69 last season. … The Falcons honored retiring TE Tony Gonzalez at halftime. Gonzalez finished with four catches for 56 yards.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Carolina   Atlanta
Cam Newton Player Steven Jackson
12 Attempts 13
72 Yards 41
6.0 Avg Yards 3.2
0 Touchdowns 0
16 Long 17
Receiving
Carolina   Atlanta
DeAngelo Williams Player Roddy White
2 Receptions 8
75 Yards 91
37.5 Avg Yards 11.4
0 Touchdowns 1
56 Long 39
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Carolina 283 134 149 3 0 1 9.0 0
Atlanta 307 76 231 2 2 1 1.0 1