Read More: vikings football, minnesota vikings football, falcons football, atlanta falcons football, vikings at falcons, vikings vs falcons, minnesota at atlanta, minnesota vs atlanta, vikings falcons scores, vikings falcons injuries, vikings falcons updates, Roddy White (WR – ATL), Jared Allen (DE – MIN), Cullen Loeffler (LS – MIN), Matt Ryan (QB – ATL), Asher Allen (CB – MIN), Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons, Nov 27, 2011 12:00 PM CST

The Minnesota Vikings’ defense is trying. They really are. But they’ve gotten hit by a spate of injuries early on, and are apparently going to have to start pulling people out of the stands here in their game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons’ most recent touchdown drive moved 68 yards in ten plays, taking a shade over six minutes to complete. Matt Ryan looked outstanding on the drive for Atlanta, connecting with all-everything tight end Tony Gonzalez numerous times. The final play of the drive was a six-yard strike from Ryan to Roddy White, who was wide open in the back of the end zone.

The Vikings have gotten even more beaten up in this one. Cornerback Asher Allen injured his shoulder, and nobody knows whether he is going to be back. Safety Tyrell Johnson appeared to pull a hamstring on a play that should have been a huge touchdown pass from Ryan to White. Even long snapper Cullen Loeffler has been knocked around, suffering a bruised tailbone after getting absolutely lit up on a punt return in the second quarter. If you’re scoring at home, Jared Allen is listed as the team’s alternate long snapper, if it becomes necessary.

But, with a little less than four minutes left in the first half at the Georgia Dome, the Minnesota Vikings trail the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 14-0.

Read More: Brent Grimes (CB – ATL), Kelvin Hayden (CB – ATL), Julio Jones (WR – ATL), Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings

The Atlanta Falcons are favored to top the Minnesota Vikings at the Georgia Dome this weekend. Part of why the Falcons are favored: they’re healthy. Only one player on Atlanta’s active roster missed practice on Thursday.

That player, cornerback Kelvin Hayden, has a toe injury, and did not participate in practice on Wednesday or Thursday. The Falcons may be without his services this weekend as a result, but should have Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, and Brent Grimes, all of whom did not participate on Wednesday but did on Thursday.

Here’s the full Falcons practice and injury report for Week 12.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE: Cornerback Kelvin Hayden (groin).

LIMITED PARTICIPATION: Offensive tackle Sam Baker (back), cornerback Brent Grimes (knee), wide receiver Julio Jones (hamstring), safety William Moore (quadricep).

FULL PARTICIPATION: Defensive end John Abraham (not injury-related), guard Justin Blalock (ankle), tight end Tony Gonzalez (not injury-related), defensive tackle Corey Peters (knee), linebacker Curtis Lofton (ankle).

For more on the Falcons, head to The Falcoholic; for more on the Vikings, visit Daily Norseman.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons finally played a game that’s more their style.

For Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers , it was just another tough loss.

Michael Turner ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Ryan scored the tie-breaking TD with 7 minutes remaining, and Corey Peters came up with a huge interception that helped the Falcons seal a 31-17 victory over the Panthers on Sunday.

The Falcons (3-3) were clearly intent on re-establishing their trademark running game against a vulnerable defense. Led by Turner, they ran the ball 35 times – 13 more than they threw it.

“We’d like to be able to do that every week,” Ryan said.

Newton, who grew up just a few miles south of the Georgia Dome, wowed the crowd most of the day. He threw for 237 yards and took off on a 14-yard touchdown run that put the Panthers (1-5) ahead 17-14 heading to the final quarter. He even celebrated with Deion Sanders’ high-step dance in the end zone, marking a day when the retired Hall of Famer was honored by the Falcons at halftime.

But the homecoming turned sour.

After Matt Bryant ‘s tying field goal and Ryan’s 1-yard sneak, Newton made his biggest blunder of the day trying to set up a screen pass. Peters, a 305-pound defensive tackle, caught the rookie off guard by dropping into coverage. Newton flipped a short pass toward DeAngelo Williams , but Peters reached up with one hand to pick it off at the Carolina 40.

“I kind of fell into it,” Peters said. “It’s a lot different than you imagine it in the sense that when you catch the ball, you freeze. ‘Oh, I got the ball!”‘

The Falcons offense did the rest, driving 39 yards for the clinching touchdown. Turner barreled into the end zone from 2 yards out with 1:56 left to hand the Panthers another excruciating loss. Their first four defeats were by a total of 18 points, and this one was much closer than the two-touchdown margin.

“At some point, you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what can you do to make it better,” Newton said. “I’m doing a self-evaluation as we speak. It’s not the time that you point the fingers and say, ‘It’s his fault.’ It’s time that we as a team take ownership of ourselves.”

Turner also scored on a 1-yard run at the end of the first quarter, carrying a season-high 27 times and breaking a streak of three straight games without reaching 100 yards.

“It started with the O-line. They came out with a nasty attitude today, that they were going to move the line of scrimmage,” Turner said. “I love to see green, man. You give me some space, I’ll do what I do.”

Ryan, who was averaging more than 39 passes a game, completed 14 of 22 for 163 yards in a performance that looked more like the Atlanta teams of the last three seasons, not the one that got off to a sluggish start this year and was in danger of dropping two games below .500 for the first time since 2007.

“We need to get our identity back, and that starts with running the football,” Turner said. “We want to bury teams, not just let up.”

Newton finished 21 of 35 but was picked off three times. The other two were a little easier to take, the first coming on a deflected pass, the last on a desperation pass into the end zone on the final play of the game.

The rookie also led the Panthers in rushing with 50 yards on six carries.

Ryan threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ovie Mughelli , giving the Falcons a 14-10 lead at halftime. Jonathan Stewart scored Carolina’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run, after Olindo Mare opened the scoring for the Panthers with a 42-yard field goal.

The Panthers didn’t have to punt until late in the third quarter, but the Atlanta defense took control in the final period. Carolina’s final four possessions ended with two punts and a pair of interceptions.

Atlanta did a good job shutting down Carolina’s top receiver, Steve Smith , who came into the game averaging nearly 23 yards per catch and more than 121 yards per game. He was held to five receptions for 66 yards.

Newton was playing at the Georgia Dome for the first time since he accounted for six touchdowns in the Southeastern Conference championship game last December, leading Auburn to a 56-17 rout of South Carolina. The Tigers went on to claim the national title, then Newton headed to the pros as the top overall pick.

Carolina took the second-half kickoff and burned 8 1/2 minutes off the clock, finishing with Newton’s touchdown scamper. He dropped back to pass, couldn’t find anyone open and took off around left end, shrugging off one would-be tackler along the way before dancing like Deion and posing for the crowd in the corner of the end zone.

The Panthers had nothing to celebrate at the end.

“Not good. Not acceptable,” first-year coach Ron Rivera said. “We’re six weeks into this. It’s time for us to start to play like we’ve been around.”

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons finally played a game that’s more their style.

For Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers , it was just another tough loss.

Michael Turner ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Ryan scored the tie-breaking TD with 7 minutes remaining, and Corey Peters came up with a huge interception that helped the Falcons seal a 31-17 victory over the Panthers on Sunday.

The Falcons (3-3) were clearly intent on re-establishing their trademark running game against a vulnerable defense. Led by Turner, they ran the ball 35 times – 13 more than they threw it.

“We’d like to be able to do that every week,” Ryan said.

Newton, who grew up just a few miles south of the Georgia Dome, wowed the crowd most of the day. He threw for 237 yards and took off on a 14-yard touchdown run that put the Panthers (1-5) ahead 17-14 heading to the final quarter. He even celebrated with Deion Sanders’ high-step dance in the end zone, marking a day when the retired Hall of Famer was honored by the Falcons at halftime.

But the homecoming turned sour.

After Matt Bryant ‘s tying field goal and Ryan’s 1-yard sneak, Newton made his biggest blunder of the day trying to set up a screen pass. Peters, a 305-pound defensive tackle, caught the rookie off guard by dropping into coverage. Newton flipped a short pass toward DeAngelo Williams , but Peters reached up with one hand to pick it off at the Carolina 40.

“I kind of fell into it,” Peters said. “It’s a lot different than you imagine it in the sense that when you catch the ball, you freeze. ‘Oh, I got the ball!”‘

The Falcons offense did the rest, driving 39 yards for the clinching touchdown. Turner barreled into the end zone from 2 yards out with 1:56 left to hand the Panthers another excruciating loss. Their first four defeats were by a total of 18 points, and this one was much closer than the two-touchdown margin.

“At some point, you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what can you do to make it better,” Newton said. “I’m doing a self-evaluation as we speak. It’s not the time that you point the fingers and say, ‘It’s his fault.’ It’s time that we as a team take ownership of ourselves.”

Turner also scored on a 1-yard run at the end of the first quarter, carrying a season-high 27 times and breaking a streak of three straight games without reaching 100 yards.

“It started with the O-line. They came out with a nasty attitude today, that they were going to move the line of scrimmage,” Turner said. “I love to see green, man. You give me some space, I’ll do what I do.”

Ryan, who was averaging more than 39 passes a game, completed 14 of 22 for 163 yards in a performance that looked more like the Atlanta teams of the last three seasons, not the one that got off to a sluggish start this year and was in danger of dropping two games below .500 for the first time since 2007.

“We need to get our identity back, and that starts with running the football,” Turner said. “We want to bury teams, not just let up.”

Newton finished 21 of 35 but was picked off three times. The other two were a little easier to take, the first coming on a deflected pass, the last on a desperation pass into the end zone on the final play of the game.

The rookie also led the Panthers in rushing with 50 yards on six carries.

Ryan threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ovie Mughelli , giving the Falcons a 14-10 lead at halftime. Jonathan Stewart scored Carolina’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run, after Olindo Mare opened the scoring for the Panthers with a 42-yard field goal.

The Panthers didn’t have to punt until late in the third quarter, but the Atlanta defense took control in the final period. Carolina’s final four possessions ended with two punts and a pair of interceptions.

Atlanta did a good job shutting down Carolina’s top receiver, Steve Smith , who came into the game averaging nearly 23 yards per catch and more than 121 yards per game. He was held to five receptions for 66 yards.

Newton was playing at the Georgia Dome for the first time since he accounted for six touchdowns in the Southeastern Conference championship game last December, leading Auburn to a 56-17 rout of South Carolina. The Tigers went on to claim the national title, then Newton headed to the pros as the top overall pick.

Carolina took the second-half kickoff and burned 8 1/2 minutes off the clock, finishing with Newton’s touchdown scamper. He dropped back to pass, couldn’t find anyone open and took off around left end, shrugging off one would-be tackler along the way before dancing like Deion and posing for the crowd in the corner of the end zone.

The Panthers had nothing to celebrate at the end.

“Not good. Not acceptable,” first-year coach Ron Rivera said. “We’re six weeks into this. It’s time for us to start to play like we’ve been around

By Ryan Van Bibber

Follow , and

Like SBNation.com on Facebook.

Oct 14, 2011 – The Atlanta Falcons are reeling right now. Mike Smith’s team has just two wins, and last week stood by helpless watching the Green Bay Packers score 25 unanswered points to erase a 14-0 deficit for the win. Instead of battling with the Saints for the NFC South title, their locked in a fight for survival to stay out of the basement. 

Sitting in that basement and playing with the gusto that says they’ll do anything to get out of it are the Carolina Panthers, who pay a visit to Atlanta this week. Carolina has come close to upsetting some favorites, including the Saints and Packers. This could be the week they finally pull off that upset, leaping over Atlanta in the NFC South standings. 

Peter King predicts the upset in his picks for the week. 

Uh-oh. The fans at the Georgia Dome, lovebirds six weeks ago, turn boo-birds. I’ve been saying this for weeks: The Panthers are a far different team with Cam than without. (Duh.) Average score of 2010 games: Foe 26, Carolina 12. Average score of 2011 games: Foe 26, Carolina 23. Newton should be able to take advantage of a generous Falcons secondary.

The expert panel at ESPN split their picks for the game. Two of five pick the Panthers at CBS. 

For more on the Panthers, head over to Cat Scratch Reader. To get the latest on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. 

Read More: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons, Oct 16, 2011 1:00 PM EDT

Follow , and

Like SBNation.com on Facebook.

Do you like this story?