CHARLOTTE, N.C. — — Bijan Robinson ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns, Tyler Allgeier added 105 yards rushing and a score and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Carolina Panthers 38-20 on Sunday for their third victory over an NFC South foe in three weeks.

Kirk Cousins ​​completed 19 of 30 passes for 225 yards and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Drake London.

Carolina’s Andy Dalton finished 26 of 38 for 221 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions in the fourth quarter for the Panthers (1-5), who have lost three in a row.

The Panthers trailed 28-20 early in the fourth quarter and moved the ball down the floor effectively, with Chuba Hubbard picking up three first downs before Dalton made a shot downfield that was intercepted by AJ Terrell.

All of Carolina’s momentum slipped away.

The Falcons quickly took advantage and pounded away at Carolina’s worn defense, covering 84 yards in nine plays for the go-ahead touchdown. Atlanta ran the ball seven times on the drive for 70 yards and four first downs before Allgeier scored on a 2-yard burst with 5:38 left.

The Falcons (4-2) jumped out to a 22-17 halftime lead after touchdowns of 5 and 7 yards from Robinson and perfectly thrown TD strike from Cousins ​​to Landon on a slant route on third down.

The Panthers made things difficult for themselves with a variety of self-inflicted mistakes, including three false starts, a bad snap, a botched pass, a failed blocking assignment and a miscommunication on a handoff that required Dalton to corral the ball and dive forward for a while. short profit. There was also an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the Falcons’ second touchdown, which prompted Raheem Morris to go for an extra point, resulting in a 2-point conversion by Allgeier after the ball was spotted at the 1.

But Dalton’s two touchdown passes — a 10-yarder to Diontae Johnson and a 7-yarder to rookie Xavier Legette in the back left corner of the end zone just before halftime — and a pair of nifty runs kept the Panthers within striking distance at the break.

Injuries

Falcons: S Micah Abernathy injured his knee early in the first quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. S Justin Simmons left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Panthers: LB Claudin Cherelus left the game in the second half with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Next

Falcons: Host Seattle next Sunday.

Panthers: Next Sunday at Washington.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl