Alec Shirkey

The last time these two teams met - last year's wild card round - the Falcons had massive problems scoring and converting fourth downs. This time it was the Giants who couldn't score or convert.

The Falcons came into the second half leading 17-0 and knowing that a quick score could break this game wide open. Matt Ryan did just that, delivering a neatly-wrapped deep ball to Julio Jones on a 40-yard touchdown pass.

The Falcons got off to a fast start after Asante Samuel intercepted Eli Manning on his first pass of the ball game. The Falcons added to that lead after Thomas DeCoud jumped a route and snagged Manning's pass out of the air.

The Atlanta Falcons set the tone for this football game from the start, as Asante Samuel intercepted Eli Manning on his first pass of the ball game. The Falcons then proceeded to call four straight handoffs to Turner to give themselves an early lead.

Matt Ryan led the Falcons offense to 20 points in the second half, but it just wasn't enough for Atlanta to pull out another tough, gritty victory on the road as they fell 30-20 to division-rival Carolina.

The Falcons came into the second half playing like lambs, but after a lot of early miscues it seems that the Atlanta offense is finally finding its rhythm. Since allowing Cam Newton to put the Panthers up 23-0, they've scored 13 unanswered points.

Through the entire first half, the Atlanta Falcons offense failed to cross midfield even once, as the Panthers held the group to just 35 total yards. They trail 16-0 at the half.

The Falcons have gotten off to a slow start on the road against the division rival Carolina Panthers, who lead 7-0 through one quarter of play.

The Atlanta Falcons won their most recent matchup with the Carolina Panthers 30-28 at home, secured in part by the late-game heroics of one Matt Ryan. The Falcons sit at 11-1, while the Panthers are 3-9. What does a DE have to do with any of this?

In what has become a running theme all season long, the Atlanta Falcons won ugly tonight, but its defense most certainly came to play. Drew Brees threw five interceptions and was kept out of the end zone.