Final: Panthers 30, Falcons 20

Scoring play: A 1-yard touchdown rush by Michael Turner.

Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 3:18.

Time of game: 0:53 in the fourth quarter.

Panthers 30, Falcons 13

Scoring play: A 53-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to DeAngelo Williams.

Drive: 4 plays, 60 yards, 2:08

Key play: A holding penalty on Dunta Robinson on third down gave Carolina a first down. Robinson held Armanti Edwards before he caught a pass well short of the chains. The 5-yard penalty is an automatic first down.

Time of game: 4:11 in the fourth quarter.

Panthers 23, Falcons 13

Scoring play: An 11-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones.

Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 3:11.

Key play: On the Carolina 22, Ryan found Tony Gonzalez for an 11-yard reception on 3-and-10. The catch came in the middle of the field and right in front of Carolina LB Luke Kuechly, who complained to the ref after the catch that Gonzalez had pushed off.

Time of game: 13:57 in the fourth quarter.

Worth mentioning: The 2-point conversion was key. Ryan rolled right and found Roddy White in the end zone. It was originally ruled a touchdown, then Ed Hochuli overruled the play on the field. The Falcons challenged and lost. The Falcons now have one timeout remaining in the game.

Score: Panthers 23, Falcons 7

Scoring play: A 4-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Roddy White.

Drive: 13 plays, 84 yards, 6:13.

Key play: There were a number of key plays in that drive, as Ryan and the Falcons went no-huddle for most of the drive to keep the Panthers off balance and not allow them to substitute.

Time of game: 4:48 in the third quarter.

Worth mentioning: That touchdown drive by the Falcons lasted one second longer than the team's entire time of possession in the first half.

Panthers 23, Falcons 0

Scoring play: A 72-yard zone-read run by Cam Newton down the near sideline.

Drive: 4 plays, 86 yards, 2:08.

Key play: A 5-yard rush by Mike Tolbert to pick up the first down. From the Carolina 23, Tolbert went right guard after Thomas Austin pulled his man off the ball. The play gave the Panthers the first down.

Time of game: 11:01 in the third quarter.

Worth mentioning: That 72-yard run was Newton's longest rush of his NFL career.

Panthers put up 16, lead at half

Apparently the Panthers were serious about atoning for their early-season loss at Atlanta.

In their most dominating half of the season, the Panthers lead the Falcons 16-0 at halftime today at Bank of America Stadium.

The Panthers out gained the Falcons 270-35 in the first half and had the ball for nearly 24 of the first 30 minutes.

Quarterback Cam Newton was 17 of 25 passing for 178 yards and one touchdown. Newton and DeAngelo Williams combined for 88 rushing yards in the first half.

The game got off to a good start for the Panthers, who won the pre-game coin flip for the first time this season. Including an overtime coin flip, the Panthers were 0-13 before winning the toss Sunday when the Falcons called tails and it came up heads.

Whether that had anything to do with it or not, the Panthers dominated the early part of the game, outgaining the Falcons 119-9 in the first quarter. The Panthers took a 7-0 lead in the opening possession, marching 77 yards on 11 plays with tight end Greg Olsen making a leaping catch for a 25-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton.

After forcing a quick Atlanta punt, the Panthers kept the ball for 9 minutes, 17 seconds, grinding out 17 plays before settling for a 24-yard Graham Gano field goal with 10:55 remaining in the second quarter. Gano added a 41-yard field goal with 4:58 remaining in the half to push the Panthers' lead to 13-0 then closed out the half with a 31-yard Gano field goal.

Having sacked Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan seven times in their early-season loss at Atlanta, the Panthers got early pressure on Ryan again with Frank Kearse getting his first sack of the season in the first quarter.

Panthers lead Falcons 16-0 at halftime

Score: Panthers 16, Falcons 0

Scoring play: A 31-yard field goal by Graham Gano.

Drive: 13 plays, 59 yards, 3:35.

Key play: A 21-yard scramble by Cam Newton on 3-and-7 at the start of the drive. Newton took off along the near sideline just before the 2-minute warning to get the Panthers on the Atlanta side of the field.

Time of game: End of the first half.

Worth mentioning: This is the largest halftime lead the Panthers have possessed all season.

Gano's field goal makes it 13-0 Panthers

Score: Panthers 13, Falcons 0

Scoring play: A 41-yard field goal by Graham Gano.

Drive: 7 plays, 52 yards, 3:41.

Key play: On 1-and-15 following a false start, Cam Newton found Steve Smith on what seemed to be his third option on that read. Smith went for 22 yards on that play and he now has 67 receiving yards on four catches today.

Time of game: 4:58 in the second quarter.

Worth mentioning: The Panthers seemed to get away from the run late in the drive, and that eventually stalled and forced Carolina to bring Gano onto the field. In those seven plays, not one was a rushing play. Score: Panthers 10, Falcons 0

Scoring play: A 24-yard field goal by Graham Gano.

Drive: 17 plays, 72 yards, 9:17.

Key play: On 3-and-long from the Atlanta 37, Cam Newton looked to be sacked in the backfield by Corey Peters. He spun Newton around several times, but the quarterback refused to go down. He then rushed for 14 yards, using Mike Tolbert as the downfield blocker and made a nice open-field cut to dive for the first down.

Time of game: 10:55 in the second quarter.

Worth mentioning: The Panthers are owning time of possession in this contest. Carolina has had the ball for 16 minutes and 28 seconds while the Falcons have had it for only 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Carolina also has the edge in total yards: 149 to 9.

Score: Panthers 7, Falcons 0

Scoring play: A 25-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to Greg Olsen.

Drive: 11 plays, 77 yards, 7:11

Key play: A key third-down pickup by fullback Mike Tolbert on 3-and-1. With the Panthers on the Atlanta 38, Tolbert ran over the left guard and stumbled behind the line of scrimmage but maintained control of his body and rushed for seven yards to pick up the first down.

Time of game: 7:49 in the first quarter

Worth mentioning: The Panthers won the coin toss for the first time all season. Carolina entered the game 0-12 on opening-game coin tosses and 0-13 overall on flips this season (the Panthers lost the overtime coin toss to Tampa Bay).

Four Panther starters inactive

The Carolina Panthers will be without four starters in today's game against the NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons.

Running back Jonathan Stewart, wide receiver Brandon LaFell, defensive tackle Dwan Edwards and linebacker James Anderson are all inactive for Sunday's game.

Stewart was listed as doubtful on Friday, and head coach Ron Rivera went as far to call the back "very doubtful" as he still tries to recover from a high ankle sprain suffered in the Philadelphia game. DeAngelo Williams will get his second consecutive start at running back.

LaFell has dealt with turf toe all week after suffering the injury against Kansas City last week and has not practiced. Louis Murphy will be the No. 2 wide receiver.

Edwards has a severed tendon in his right wrist and was limited in practice. Frank Kearse will start in his place. Anderson, who was poked in the eye in the Kansas City game, had a sore back and did not practice all week. Jason Phillips will take over at Anderson's vacant spot.

The only good injury news for the Panthers is that safety Charles Godfrey is active. Godfrey had a sore back and did not practice all week. He was listed as questionable on Friday.

The other Panther inactives are QB Jimmy Clausen, G Jeff Byers and T Bruce Campbell.

Byers' inactivity also leaves the Panthers thin at right guard. Garry Williams will get the start, but Byers was his immediate backup after the Panthers cut Jeremy Bridges earlier in the week.

For the Falcons, CB Asante Samuel will play after being listed as questionable Friday with a shoulder injury. Falcons' starting safety William Moore is inactive with a hamstring and Rock Hill native Chris Hope will start in his place.

--Jonathan Jones