Today in 2000 - Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers

October 15, 2000 – Today in 2000, the Atlanta Falcons swooped in to Ericsson Stadium to face the Carolina Panthers in a Week 3 matchup.

The only scoring in the first quarter was a 31 yard field goal by Morten Andersen.  In the second quarter, the Falcons added to their lead on a 26 yard touchdown run by Jamal Anderson.  The Panthers responded in kind with a 33 yard field goal by Richie Cunningham and a 9 yard touchdown pass from Steve Beuerlein to Muhsin Muhammad.  The game was tied at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Morten Andersen broke the tie with a 27 yard field goal.  Then Atlanta sealed the deal with a safety.  The Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers 15-10.

Beuerlein passed 21-37 for 241 yards with a touchdown and 2 interceptions for the Panthers.  Tim Biakabutuka was held to 45 yards on 12 rushes.  For the Falcons, Chris Miller passed 21-27 for 174 yards and Jamal Anderson had 22 rushes for 97 yards and a touchdown.  He also had 2 receptions for 12 yards.  Jason Peter and Reggie White each had a sack for Carolina, and Ashley Ambrose and Ray Buchanan each had an interception.  Shane Dronett and Travis White recorded a sack for the Atlanta, while Chuck Wiley had 2 sacks.

Carolina went to 1-2 for the season and Atlanta went to 2-1.  The Panthers finished the season 7-9.  The Falcons finished the season at 4-12.

Notables

• There was 1 Hall of Famer present:  Reggie White for the Panthers.
  
• This was George Seifert’s second season coaching the Panthers.  He coached the team from 1999-2001.  He was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 1989-96 and led them to two Super Bowl victories.
  
• This was Dan Reeves’ fourth season coaching the Falcons.  He coached the team from 1997-2003 and led them to a Super Bowl appearance.  Reeves was featured in recent entries of this blog.
  
• Falcons kicker Morten Anderson holds the team scoring record for the Falcons and New Orleans Saints.  His career spanned from 1982-2005.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on October 15,

1978 – Philadelphia 17 – Washington 10

2000 – Minnesota 28 – Chicago 16

2006 – New York Jets 20 – Miami 17

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers - October 15, 2000.