Turner Burns Carolina in Key Atlanta Win

Falcons 45, Panthers 28

ATLANTA, Nov. 23 -- The stunning rebirth of the Atlanta Falcons provided another feel-good moment on Sunday at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons took another step toward forgetting about their lost 2007 season and tightened the NFC South race by beating the front-running Carolina Panthers, 45-28.

The Falcons got four rushing touchdowns from tailback Michael Turner and a series of big plays by rookie wide receiver Harry Douglas, who scored two touchdowns and set up two others, to improve to 7-4. They have a rookie coach in Mike Smith and a rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan, but they're in the thick of the NFC playoff chase in the season after the franchise seemingly was left in ruins by the Michael Vick dogfighting scandal and the departure of Bobby Petrino before he completed his first season of coaching in the NFL.

Atlanta ended the Panthers' four-game winning streak and dropped Carolina, at 8-3, into a tie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers atop the division.

"I think that we are improving," Smith said. "It's a process we've been going through. It's kind of been an up-and-down, rollercoaster ride. But we're enjoying it."

Turner ran for 117 yards on 24 bruising carries and tied T.J. Duckett's team record for rushing touchdowns in a game. He moved past 1,000 rushing yards for the season and got within one of Jamal Anderson's single-season club mark of 14 rushing touchdowns.

But Turner had help, as Ryan completed 17 of 27 passes for 259 yards. Ryan's favorite target, wideout Roddy White, had a relatively quiet day, with four catches for 70 yards. But Douglas, a third-round draft choice in April out of Louisville, more than took up the slack with his first two NFL touchdowns, one on a running play and another on a punt return. He also set up two of Turner's touchdowns with an early punt return and a long catch-and-run late.

The Falcons got back into the win column a week after a disappointing loss at home to the Denver Broncos, and perhaps signaled they aren't about to fade away down the stretch.

"We expected to come out and execute and play well," Ryan said. "We can't really worry about sending messages."

The Falcons had leads of 17-0 in the second quarter and 24-13 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. The Panthers made it interesting, as tailback DeAngelo Williams ran for a touchdown and quarterback Jake Delhomme ran for one touchdown and threw for another. They drew to 17-13 in the third quarter and 24-21 in the fourth quarter. But each time they got close, the Falcons had a reply.

"We certainly need to start a whole lot faster," Delhomme said. "I was kind of proud we fought back. [But] we didn't give ourselves a chance. They just made more plays than us all day long."

The Falcons lost to the Panthers earlier this season but began this game in dominant fashion and outgained Carolina, 162-0, in the first quarter. They settled for a Jason Elam field goal after a solid opening drive but got the ball back quickly and got into the end zone.

Douglas scored on a seven-yard run on which he lined up on the left side of the formation, went into motion and took a pitch from Ryan in the backfield on his way to racing to the opposite corner of the end zone.