CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A long punt return had put Matt Ryan in a good spot. The ball was at midfield, Carolina's defense was tiring and Atlanta seemed poised for a comeback victory.
It took just one play for the hopes to be dashed and the whispers of a sophomore slump to grow louder.
Ryan's badly overthrown pass was picked off by Richard Marshall, setting up the Panthers' clinching touchdown in their 28-19 over the Falcons on Sunday that left Ryan with one more interception (12) than his entire rookie season.
"There are going to be things that you have to learn along the way," said Ryan, who threw two more picks, leaving him with 10 in five games. "It's a tough league."
Jake Delhomme knows that, after the veteran's brutal stretch of 13 interceptions in the first six games. He made it three straight games without a turnover as Carolina unleashed a no-huddle offense that put the gunslinger in his element.
Delhomme threw two touchdown passes to Steve Smith, and Carolina (4-5) overcame the loss of left tackle Jordan Gross to a broken ankle to win for the fourth time in six games.
"Every time I was touching it, I was turning it over," Delhomme said of his horrible start to the season. "It certainly helped not turning it over today."
Ryan's miscues aren't all that's ailing the Falcons (5-4), who fell to 1-4 on the road. Michael Turner didn't return after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter -- when he already had 111 yards on nine carries.
Turner was expected to undergo tests in Atlanta on Monday. Jason Snelling, the only healthy running back left, finished with 61 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in Turner's place.
With Ryan completing only 7 of 19 passes in the first half, the Panthers built a 21-10 halftime lead. Delhomme looked poised and the Falcons struggled to get the right defensive personnel on the field.
Delhomme, no longer the NFL leader in interceptions after Jay Cutler's struggles with Chicago, found Smith on a pair of 4-yard TDs. Much of Delhomme's best work over the years has come in the 2-minute offense, and he finished 15 of 24 for 195 yards.
"That is something that we practice a good bit," Delhomme said of the no-huddle. "I'm extremely comfortable in that situation."
The Panthers' offense wasn't as successful after halftime, allowing Ryan to show some of his rookie magic.
Ryan got the Falcons within 21-19 when he found tight end Justin Peelle for a 3-yard TD on fourth-and-1. The 2-point conversion attempt with 13:44 left failed when Chris Gamble tackled Snelling on a swing pass.
Ryan later converted a third-and-11 from his own 3 with a 13-yard pass to Tony Gonzalez. But the drive stalled and Jason Elam hesitated twice before pulling the short field-goal attempt with 6:35 left.
"My timing was kind of a mess from the start," Elam said. "It's me. I need to take the blame."
The Panthers went three-and-out and Eric Weems returned the ensuing punt to the Carolina 49. But Ryan threw into double coverage, setting up Jonathan Stewart's 45-yard touchdown run with 2:07 left.
Stewart rushed for 82 yards and two scores. DeAngelo Williams, questionable going into the game with a sore left knee, added 92 on the ground and was a big fan of the no-huddle.
"We work on it practice all the time. We have our 2-minute drill and have the opportunity to let Jake call his own plays," Williams said. "I think he did a phenomenal job today."
While the Panthers have little time to plan for the loss of Gross with a Thursday night game looming against Miami, the Falcons tried to brush off concerns about Ryan.
He was 22 of 41 for 224 yards and one touchdown, and the Falcons were unable to take advantage of Carolina's revamped defense after linebacker Thomas Davis' season-ending knee injury last week.
"I don't think there's anything technically wrong with him," receiver Michael Jenkins said of Ryan. "We've just got to limit turnovers and execute better."
