Panthers Vs. Falcons, Week 4: Atlanta survives rough outing as weaknesses are exposed in victory

After a game that looked like a sure loss was turned into a victory with a thrilling, late-game comeback from quarterback Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons, the Falcons faithful was at somewhat of a loss to put the game into perspective as Atlanta begins the season 4-0.

Over at The Falcoholic, the message was clear — the Falcons were not the better team for large portions of the game against the Carolina Panthers, but were able to come out of Sunday's NFC South showdown with a victory nonetheless.

What can you say about a game like that? The Falcons were simply outclassed by the Panther for large portions of the game, and yet they won. It was, truly, one for the ages.

Ryan, who had been an early key to the Falcons overwhelming success through the first three weeks, suffered alongside other parts of the Falcons' attack, which were exploited by a game Panthers squad.

A line that allowed Matt Ryan to be sacked seven times, a defense that couldn't contain a dynamic quarterback and the ugly failings of the run defense turned this one from a sure win into a frankly pathetic loss. ... [The Falcons] need to improve their line play on both sides of the ball, clearly, and not rest on their laurels just because they're still undefeated. There's a lot of work to be done.