Falcons' Takeaways Gift Struggling Offense Win vs. Panthers

It was the Atlanta Falcons' defense that proved to be the star of the show, as they had forced three turnovers in the win against the Carolina Panthers.

The Atlanta Falcons start the season with a win for the first time since 2017, as they managed to knock off the Carolina Panthers 24-10 at home. 

While fans and the Falcons can certainly be happy to end their losing streak in season-openers, they will also feel like they have much to improve in the coming weeks. 

One of those improvements will be finding a way to move the ball offensively. Even after adding the No. 8 overall NFL Draft pick in running back Bijan Robinson, the Falcons finished the game with just 222 yards of total offense and punting the ball seven times in the win. So, how did the Falcons manage to win this game without being able to put together productive drives? 

Takeaways. It is one of the first things coaches talk about when discussing the keys to winning a game. Coaches usually say something along the lines of, 'control the line of scrimmage, and win the turnover battle.'  The Falcons managed to do the latter as one of their prized free-agent signings, safety Jessie Bates, was essentially a one-man show in the turnover department. 

Following punts on the first two Falcons' drives, Bates scored an assist on their ensuing touchdown drive as he picked off a Bryce Young pass, which set up Desmond Ridder's touchdown pass to rookie running back Bijan Robinson. 

Then, after three straight Atlanta drives ended with punts, another Bates interception, this time when the Falcons were trailing 10-7 in the third quarter, set the offense up for a game-tying field goal. 

Yet, he wasn't done, as the next Panthers drive, a 10-yard Miles Sanders run was stopped by Bates as he forced the fumble that ended helping the Falcons take the lead in the fourth quarter after Tyler Allgeier punched the ball into the end zone. 

Three of the four scoring drives for the Falcons came off turnovers created by Bates and the Atlanta defense, as they'd send the Panthers packing with a 24-10 win to start the new season.