The Carolina Panthers secured the NFC South title with a comprehensive 34-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons to book their place in the post-season.
The Panthers had early success in the running game as Jonathan Stewart managed to find holes in the defense, while Cam Newton also used his legs to good effect to take his team to the red zone, but they were forced to settle for three points from the boot of Graham Gano.
Carolina did get into the endzone at the end of the first quarter as Newton found Ed Dickson, who caught the ball over his head and stumbled backwards into the endzone for the score.
The Falcons missed an excellent chance to score a touchdown as Matt Ryan hit Patrick DiMarco on the one-yard line for a potential walk-in touchdown, but the full-back dropped the ball, forcing his side to settle for a field goal from Matt Bryant.
Ryan then committed a crucial error as he threw too high for Roddy White and was picked off by Roman Harper, who ran the ball back to the endzone for the touchdown.
Just before the break, the Panthers took full control of the match as a fumble from White allowed Thomas Davis to return the ball to the four-yard line, and Newton powered over on the next play for the touchdown.
In the second half, Carolina added three further points from the boot of Gano as the home side continued to struggle on offense, failing to get on the scoreboard and give themselves hope of an improbable comeback.
Ryan sealed his side's fate as he threw an interception into the hands of Tre Boston when attempting to find Harry Douglas deep down the sideline, and the defensive back ran the ball all the way back to the endzone for an 84-yard score.
The Panthers were able to see out the victory in the fourth quarter to secure their place as the fourth seed in the NFC playoffs.
Simon Sinclair
