Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons box score, stats and summary feat. Kirk Cousins and Andy Dalton

On Sunday, the NFC South leaders, the Atlanta Falcons, traveled to Bank of America Stadium to take on the struggling Carolina Panthers in a divisional battle.

The visitors came into this game on the back of two straight wins against the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were looking to make it a hat trick of victories over their division rivals and maintain their status as the top team in the NFC South.

The Panthers are on the opposite end of the form spectrum. Following their win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, they lost 34-24 to the Cincinnati Bengals and were blown out 36-10 by the Chicago Bears. They were hoping to end their losing streak and avoid dropping to 1-5 for the season.

Atlanta was a heavy favorite, but Carolina showcased in Week 3 that it could pull off an upset. Here's how the game transpired:

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Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons box score

Team	First Quarter	Second Quarter	Third Quarter	Fourth Quarter	Final
Carolina Panthers	7	10	3	0	20
Atlanta Falcons	7	15	6	10	38

Carolina Panthers box score

Quarterback

Quarterback	Passing Yards	Completions	Pass Attempts	Pass Touchdowns	INTs	Rush Attempts	Rush Yards
Andy Dalton	221	26	38	2	2	3	21

Rushing and receiving

Player	Rush Attempts	Rushing Yards	Rushing Touchdowns	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Receiving Touchdowns
Chubba Hubbard	18	92	0	5	11	0
Miles Sanders	3	1	0	1	12	0
Diontae Johnson	0	0	0	6	78	1
David Moore	0	0	0	2	17	0
Ja'Tavion Sanders	0	0	0	5	49	0
Xavier Lagette	0	0	0	3	23	1

Defense

Player	Tackles (Total)	Sacks	Interceptions
Troy Hill	8	0	0
Nick Scott	4	0	0
Trevin Wallace	6	0	0
Xavier Woods	7	0	0

Kicking

Player	PAT	Field Goals	Long
Eddie Pineiro	2/2	2/2	40

Atlanta Falcons box score

Quarterback

Quarterback	Passing Yards	Completions	Pass Attempts	Pass Touchdowns	INTs	Rush Attempts	Rush Yards
Kirk Cousins	225	19	30	0	0	4	-5

Rushing and receiving

Player	Rush Attempts	Rushing Yards	Rushing Touchdowns	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Receiving Touchdowns
Bijan Robinson	15	95	2	3	10	0
Tyler Allgeier	18	105	1	1	3	0
Ray-Ray McCloud	1	3	0	3	30	0
Kyle Pitts	0	0	0	3	70	0
Drake London	0	0	0	6	74	1
Darnell Mooney	0	0	0	3	38	0

Defense

Player	Tackles (Total)	Sacks	Interceptions
Mike Hughes	4	0	0
Grady Jarrett	4	0	0
Clark Phillips III	3	0	1
A.J. Terrell	3	0	1

Kicking

Player	PAT	Field Goals	Long
Younghoe Koo	3/3	3/3	12

Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons game summary

The Carolina Panthers had a bright start to the game and took the lead on their second possession as Andy Dalton led them on a 15-play, 62-yard drive before combining with wide receiver Diontae Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown catch.

However, their lead didn't last long. On the subsequent drive, Kirk Cousins and the Falcons responded with a touchdown. They ran 15 plays for 51 yards before Bijan Robinson carried the ball into the endzone from five yards out.

Atlanta's defense forced a three-and-out on the subsequent drive and got the ball back into Cousins' hands. However, a fumble after a catch by Ray-Ray McCloud was recovered by Carolina's defense, allowing the offense to reclaim the lead.

Dalton and the offense got down to the Falcons' five-yard line but decided to settle for a field goal instead of going for a touchdown on fourth-and-5 and retook the lead. Atlanta made them rue the decision on the subsequent drive as a 52-yard catch from Kyle Pitts set up Robinson's second touchdown run of the game.

After their defense forced another punt from the Panthers, the Falcons' special team aided their quest to add to their lead. Punt returner Clark Phillips ripped off a terrific run and an offensive hold call tacked on 10 more yards. Cousins and the Falcons started the drive at Carolina's 27-yard line and took only five plays to find the endzone.

In their final drive of the half, Dalton and the Panthers offense went to work and embarked on a terrific drive that started at their 24-yard line. After whiffing on his first pass attempts, the veteran quarterback completed five straight, with the last finding Xavier Lagette in the endzone for a touchdown that cut the home team's deficit to five points.

The Falcons had the opening possession of the second half and embarked on an 11-play, 67-yard drive before settling for a 21-yard field goal to extend their lead to eight points.

In the subsequent drive, the Panthers responded with a field goal of their own, but Atlanta kicker Younghoe Koo ensured his team went into the final 15 minutes of the game with an eight-point lead with his second field goal of the quarter.

The Panthers opened the fourth quarter with a stellar drive, as an eight-yard pass from Dalton was followed by four straight runs that yielded 34 yards. Another 12-yard catch from Dionatae Johnson and a two-year run by Chubba Hubbard had Carolina well within field goal range.

However, a poor throw by Dalton was picked off by cornerback A.J. Terrell, which proved to be a devastating turnover for the home team.

Cousins and the Falcons ensured Terrell's stellar play did not go to waste as they embarked on an 84-yard drive, which ended with running back Tyler Allegeier punching the ball into the endzone from two yards out to extend the visitors' lead to 15.

On the following drive, the Panthers faced a fourth-and-4 from their 37-yard line. With only 4:14 left on the clock, they had no choice but to go for it. Dalton tried to find Johnson, but they couldn't connect and Carolina turned the ball over on downs.

Atlanta played it safe and called five straight run plays before Koo converted his third field goal of the night to extend his team's lead to 18. In the game's penultimate drive, Dalton threw his second pick of the night as cornerback Clark Phillips undercut Johnson's comeback.

He had a clear path to the endzone but instead went down at the Panthers' six-yard line to put the ball in Cousins' hands to kneel the clock out and end the game.