Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix, Jr (above) scored the team’s first touchdown of the game on a five-yard run. Photo by One Circle Entertainment/The Atlanta VoiceThe 2024 regular season came down to this. One final ball game for it all. If the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a home game to the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta was back in the playoffs. Correction: Atlanta would have been back in the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. That season took place in 2017 when the head coach was Dan Quinn. Yes, Dan Quinn of the playoff-bound Washington Commanders. None of that would matter as the Tampa Bucs beat New Orleans 27-19, the final score coming across the jumbotron at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the Falcons prepared to kick off after losing the coin toss. Carolina would win 44-38 minutes later.After the game, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said he was “disappointed” in how the defense played.“Hats off to the Carolina Panthers, you have to give those guys credit where credit is due,” Morris said. Good news: This is the first season under head coach Raheem Morris, the first full-time Black head coach in the history of the franchise. The team has so many reasons to consider the 2024 campaign a success. Even more good news: There’s so much to look forward to. The Penix-to-London connection is the future of this franchise and it was on full display during the game. It was absolutely outstanding to watch those guys wheel and deal out there today,” Morris said. “If you’re a fan you have to be excited.”During his postgame interview, Penix said he was looking forward to his first NFL off-season in order to work on what he needs to do to get better. “It’s a lot to work on and I’m definitely going to look at what I need to do.”The bad news: The Falcons have now missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons. Atlanta opened the game with a long drive that ended in a 34-yard field goal from kicker Riley Patterson. Carolina followed that drive by scoring on all three of their drives during the first half. The last was a five-play drive capped by a 33-yard touchdown pass from Panthers quarterback Bryce Young to Velus Jones, Jr., which put the Panthers ahead 17-10 late in the second quarter. Atlanta tied the game on the ground with just over 1:34 remaining in the first half when Bijan Robinson scored from three yards out. The six-play, 70-yard drive tied the game at 17. Atlanta took the lead late in the first half when Penix found London for a touchdown. That drive included another Peniux pass to receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III for a long gain deep into Carolina territory. It only took the Panthers minutes into the third quarter to tie the game again, this time on a Young 12-yard pass to tight end Tommy Tremble. Atlanta had the ball to start the second half, but Penix was credited with an interception when his pass came off the hands of McCloud III and into the hands of the Carolina secondary. Sunday was the first time Falcons receiver Drake London caught two touchdowns in a game. Photo by One Circle Entertainment/The Atlanta VoiceThe Falcons could have regained the lead midway through the third quarter, but Patterson missed a 52-yard field goal attempt. Carolina’s offense c continued to march downfield and put pressure on the Falcons’ defense, which was playing well the past three weeks. The difference between this game against the Panthers and the previous game in Charlotte, a 38-20 Falcons win on Oct. 13, was Bryce Young. The second-year quarterback’s confidence has been through the roof since returning to the starting lineup after getting benched early in the season. Young found receiver David Moore for a nine-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to put the Panthers back in front 31-24. The most important play of the game may have come early in the fourth quarter on a fourth and one from the Carolina 12-yard line. Robinson gained a yard and got Atlanta in position to tie the game. Penix would find London again for a touchdown from the Carolina 20. It was the first time in his career he had two touchdowns in a game. The teams would exchange touchdowns again late in the game.Atlanta tied the game at 38 with less than a minute to play when Robinson scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run.The post Prayers Go Unanswered: Atlanta Falcons out of playoffs for 7th year in a row appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.