ATLANTA (AP) — The Carolina Panthers somehow found a way to have a last-gasp chance to beat the Atlanta Falcons after twice trailing by 14 points in the second half.Welcome back to the NFC South. It shaping up to be another entertaining race.Playing without injured running back Devonta Freeman Jace Sternberger Jersey , the Falcons still had big production on the ground and survived Cam Newton’s desperation pass to the end zone as time expired to beat the Panthers 31-24 on Sunday.It was a dramatic ending to a rivalry game.“At the end, I don’t think there was anybody who wasn’t up and screaming and feeling wild,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn. “You couldn’t hear anything.”It was an important win for the Falcons (1-1) following last week’s loss at Philadelphia in their opener. With another loss, they would have trailed the Panthers (1-1) and Tampa Bay by two games only two weeks into the season. Instead, they’re one of three teams tied at 1-1, with only the Buccaneers still unbeaten in the division that sent three teams to the playoffs last season.Matt Ryan passed for 272 yards with two touchdowns and had his first career game with two rushing touchdowns for Atlanta. Freeman was held out with a sore right knee, and Tevin Coleman ran for 107 yards in his starting role. Rookie Ito Smith added 46 yards rushing as the Falcons ran for 170 yards.Atlanta led 24-10 following Ryan’s 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter and 31-17 following his improbable 8-yard scoring run midway through the final period.Newton’s 51-yard touchdown pass to rookie D.J. Moore cut the lead to seven points. Newton looked for Moore again on the game’s final play. Moore couldn’t adjust after linebacker De’Vondre Campbell missed a chance for an interception.“I had a good shot at it but it just came down too fast through his arms as I reacted,” Moore said.Here are some takeaways from the Falcons’ win in their home opener:EJECTIONFalcons safety Damontae Kazee was ejected after leading with his helmet on a hit to Newton early in the second quarter. Newton slid after a run before the hit by Kazee, the fill-in starter for Keanu Neal, who will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.Newton was quickly checked on the sideline before returning to the field without missing a play.“It was fine,” Newton said. “It looked worse than it was. I’m just lucky that nothing pretty much happened. This game isn’t fit for cheap shots like that but at the end of the day you can’t blame him. He’s playing as hard as he can, I’m playing as hard as I can.”MEMORABLE TDsFalcons rookie Calvin Ridley got a chance to celebrate his first NFL catch . Then his first touchdown.The top pick out of Alabama hauled in an 11-yard scoring pass from Ryan with 4:03 left in the first half Dexter Williams Jersey , erasing Carolina’s early 10-3 lead. Ridley had four catches for 64 yards after being held without a reception in Week 1.Similarly, Moore’s 51-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter was the first career catch for the Panthers’ rookie.BRACE MALFUNCTION II: Matt Schaub made his first appearance since the 2016 season, but it was for only one ugly play.Schaub, Ryan’s backup, entered the game after Ryan ran to the sideline following a 5-yard run in the first quarter. Ryan slid on the play, causing the brace on his left knee to move out of position. While Ryan was having the brace adjusted, Schaub was on the field long enough only for a fumble. He fell on the loose ball for a loss of 8 yards, and Ryan returned to the game.Ryan’s knee brace also slipped out of position, again after he slid at the end of a run, in the Falcons’ loss at Philadelphia last week. The Falcons called a timeout as personnel quickly cut off the brace.ROOKIE FILL-IN: Panthers rookie tight end Ian Thomas had two catches for 10 yards as the fill-in for Greg Olsen, who is out with a broken bone in his foot.INJURY REPORT: Falcons left guard Andy Levitre (elbow) and backup defensive end Derrick Shelby (groin) left the game. The Panthers lost starting strong safety Da’Norris Searcy (concussion) and cornerback Donte Jackson (hamstring). MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings turned their defensive line loose on Matthew Stafford in a dominant performance that would have made the old Purple People Eaters proud.This unstoppable pass rush was led, predictably Rock Ya-Sin Jersey , by Danielle Hunter.Hunter had 3 1/2 of Minnesota’s franchise-record 10 sacks plus a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown , tormenting Stafford and the Detroit Lions all afternoon in a 24-9 victory by the Vikings on Sunday.Article continues below ...“We knew he liked to throw the ball down the field, so that’s something that really helped us a lot because he held on to the ball,” said Hunter, who moved into the NFL lead with 11 1/2 sacks for the season. “So as long as we executed the rush plan, we knew we’d be able to get back there.”Hunter also was credited with nine tackles and four quarterback hits. The Vikings (5-3-1) limited the Lions (3-5) to a season-low 214 total yards, and their pressure on Stafford was so intense he literally had pieces of rubber pellets from the artificial turf flushed out of his left eye in the second quarter. The Lions had a streak of 25 consecutive games with at least 14 points come to a crashing halt.“The fault is on everybody,” said Stafford, who was sacked a total of 13 times over the first seven games. “I have to get the ball out faster.”After Dalvin Cook dropped a pitch from Kirk Cousins and A’Shawn Robinson recovered at the Detroit 28 with Minnesota leading 17-6, the Lions converted a fake punt to keep that drive alive. Two plays later, Stafford ran right on the short side of the field and tried an option-style flip that Kerryon Johnson was unable to secure, and Hunter scooped it up on his way to the easy score.“I don’t know why he pitched it. He could’ve just run http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/anthony-zettel-jersey ,” Hunter said. “I thought it was a pass all the way, but I guess he didn’t want to get hit or something.”That happened a lot, including a total of three times in the second quarter on two separate possessions inside the Minnesota 20 that forced the Lions to settle for field goals by Matt Prater.After a throw by Cousins to Adam Thielen near midfield was intercepted by Darius Slay, the Lions made it as far as the 12-yard line. Hunter sacked Stafford on consecutive snaps, sharing the first one with Everson Griffen.“He’s a freak of nature. He looks like a superhero,” Griffen said of the fourth-year defensive end. “I expected that from him.”Nine of the 10 sacks by the Vikings came from their front four, including 2 1/2 by backup defensive tackle Tom Johnson. During the heyday of the Purple People Eaters, the Vikings had nine sacks in a game in 1968, 1969 and 1970. They also did it in 1993. But this was the record-setter, thanks to a well-timed mix of blitzes called by coach Mike Zimmer and the relentless rush by Hunter and his friends up front.“We know if we give them time, they’ll get there,” safety Harrison Smith said. “It’s fun to be a part of.”HE’S COOKIN’With one burst through a big hole in the left side of the line http://www.detroitlionsteamonline.com/jahlani-tavai-jersey , Cook made clear he’s healthy again with a 70-yard gain in the second quarter to set up a short touchdown catch by Thielen. According to the NFL’s NextGen Stats tracker, he averaged 22.07 mph during that run for the fastest in the league this season. The Lions have allowed a rush of 50-plus yards in four different games this year.NOT THIELEN ITThielen’s streak of 100-yard receiving games ended at eight in a row, leaving him in a tie for the record with Lions legend Calvin Johnson. The Lions double-covered him often, taking advantage of the absence of fellow standout Stefon Diggs to rib injury, and Thielen finished with only four receptions for 22 yards.STACKS OF SACKSThe previous high sack total for Stafford in his career was seven, against the Vikings in 2015. He has been sacked five times or more on 15 different occasions, six of those by the Vikings. The Lions are 3-12 in those games.“It’s a big shot to our pride,” left guard Frank Ragnow said.UH-OHThe opening kickoff was ominous for the Lions when Prater slipped after his leg swing, an unintentional squib the Vikings returned to their 35. Practice squad promotion Chad Beebe caught back-to-back passes on the first drive of his NFL debut. The second one netted 13 yards on fourth-and-2 from the Detroit 37. Latavius Murray finished the march with a 1-yard touchdown run.INJURY REPORTLions: DE Ziggy Ansah (shoulder) returned from a six-game absence with had a sack in the closing seconds of the second quarter that forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal. … LT Taylor Decker left in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury but later returned.Vikings: LB Anthony Barr (hamstring) and LG Tom Compton (knee) were held out for the second straight game, and SS Andrew Sendejo (groin) missed his fourth straight contest. … Backup TE David Morgan hobbled off in the third quarter with a left knee injury.UP NEXTLions: Play at Chicago next Sunday.Vikings: Play at Chicago on Nov. 18, after the bye.