Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Broncos, the Falcons stayed at home, donned their alternate uniforms, and played a Week 12 NFC South rematch with the Carolina Panthers.  In the first quarter, Atlanta took flight as kicker Jason Elam got a 23-yard field goal, while rookie WR Harry Douglas got a 7-yard TD run.  In the second quarter, the Falcons increased their lead as RB Michael Turner got a 1-yard TD run.  The Panthers closed out the half as kicker John Kasay got a 23-yard field goal. On his third carry of the game, Turner rushed for a six-yard gain and eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing plateau this season. He became the first Falcons running back to reach 1,000 yards in a campaign since 2006 when Warrick Dunn had 1,140 and the 20th running back in franchise history to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Turner's career day continued after he tied a team record with four rushing touchdowns of T. J. Duckett posted on December 12, 2004. It was also the second career three-score game and the fourth multiple-touchdown game of his career. Turner first found the end zone on a one-yard rush in the second quarter, scored for the second occasion on a four-yard run in the fourth quarter, logged his third TD on a one-yard run with 7:13 remaining and tallied his last on a 16-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to seal a Falcons 45-28 victory. With four scores, Turner became the third player in Falcons history to post 13 or more rushing touchdowns in a season. Turner finished the game with 24 carries for 117 yards and four touchdowns, which marked his eighth career 100-yard game. He currently has rushed for 1,088 yards this season and is on a pace for 1,583 yards, which would rank third in a season in Falcons annals; following the first half of play, Turner tallied 12 carries for 56 yards. This season, when the fifth-year running back rushes for 50 yards or more in the first half, the Falcons are 5-0. Matt Ryan and the offense faced a quick third down on the next possession, but the quarterback found rookie wide receiver Harry Douglas on a 69-yard pass play to the Panthers 6. Four plays later Turner got his key, fourth-down touchdown. The Panthers faced an energized defense and a raucous crowd on the next possession. Chauncey Davis recorded his second sack of the day and back-to-back false start penalties backed Carolina into the shadow of its own goal line. The Panthers punted from the end zone, giving Douglas a chance for a big return. The rookie brought the kick back up the middle 61 yards for a touchdown. Delhomme found Muhsin Muhammad for a touchdown on the next series but the Falcons had already done plenty of damage. Still, Turner found the end zone for a final time with just 54 seconds to play. Eric Weems caught his first career pass in the first quarter for a four-yard gain. The reception led to a Falcons touchdown. Douglas scored his first two career touchdowns; he first found the end zone on a seven-yard end around in the first quarter to give the Falcons a 10-0 lead; Douglas then became the 10th player in Falcons history to return a punt for a touchdown and the first since 2004 when Allen Rossum returned a kick 61 yards in the fourth quarter. Douglas's return was the longest in his career, topping the previous mark of 33 yards against New Orleans in Week 10; along with a 61-yard punt return, Douglas totaled career-highs in offensive touches with six (two rushing, four receiving and all purpose yards 188, which included 3 rushing, 92 receiving and 93 yards on punt returns), he also became the Falcons' third rookie this season to account for a touchdown; along with Douglas's run and punt return, quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown 11 touchdown passes and cornerback Chevis Jackson returned an interception 95 yards for a score against New Orleans in Week 10, Douglas posted a career-long reception with a 69-yard catch in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 92 receiving yards, which led the team and fell four yards short of his career high ( 96 yards vs. Chicago, October 12 ). Roddy White caught Ryan first pass of the game for a 30-yard gain, marking the 11th reception of 20-plus yards, White finished the game with four receptions for 70 yards and is 27 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season. Atlanta outscored Carolina in the first quarter by a 10-0 margin, marking the seventh time this season a Falcons opponent was held scoreless in the opening 15 minutes of play. Atlanta has now outscored its opponents in the first quarter by an 88-24 mark and led the NFL in first quarter scoring entering Sunday's game. Following the first quarter of play, the Falcons offense posted 162 net yards of offense compared to zero by the Panthers . Brian Finneran caught one pass for nine yards on a third down in the second quarter, giving the Falcons a new set of downs. In his career, the nine-year veteran has caught 127 of 187 receptions that have gone for a first down or touchdown (67.9 percent). John Abraham logged his 12th sack of the season and stalled a Carolina two-minute drive at the end of the second quarter; the sack is the 14th in his last 12 games, his 22nd in his last 26 contests and has now recorded 79.5 for his career. In his tenure with the Falcons, Abraham has posted 26 sacks in 34 games played. Abraham's 12 sacks through 11 games this season already ranks tied for the fifth most in a single season in Falcons history. Atlanta defense held Carolina to three-consecutive three and outs to start the game while allowing only eight net yards; entering Sunday's game, the Falcons ranked fourth in the NFC and eighth in the NFL in opponent three and out drives. Jason Snelling caught a 27-yard pass in the first quarter and broke a tackle to take the ball into Carolina territory, the reception is a career-long for the second-year running back, topping his old mark of 18 yards, which he set earlier in the season at Philadelphia. In the third quarter, Carolina began to claw their way back into the game as RB DeAngelo Williams got a 5-yard TD run, while Kasay nailed a 21-yard field goal.  In the fourth quarter, Atlanta answered with Turner getting a 4-yard TD run.  The Panthers would reply with quarterback Jake Delhomme getting a 12-yard TD run (along with Williams' 2-point conversion run), yet the Falcons struck right back with Turner getting a 1-yard TD run, while Douglas returned a punt 61-yard field goal.  Carolina tried to rally as Delhomme completed a 16-yard TD pass to WR Muhsin Muhammad, yet Atlanta flew away as Turner got a 16-yard TD run. "It was great to get off to a good start and score 17 points", said Ryan, who managed the game with 259 passing yards on a 94.5 passer rating. "For the most part, we were able to maintain our ebb and flow on the offensive side of the ball. Our defense stepped up and did a heck of a job keeping Carolina from making big plays. I didn't think we would score 45 points, but I'll take that any day."

Ask a question about this article.
What happened with Douglas' return?