CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Atlanta Falcons faced third-and-9 at their own 31-yard line late in the first quarter of their 38-20 win over the Carolina Panthers, when Darnell Mooney popped wide open on the left side for a 12-yard gain that could have gone for even more had the wide receiver not slipped.
Three plays later, Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn was called for pass interference when the Falcons faced third-and-5.
Seven plays later, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson broke free for a 5-yard touchdown run around the left side on third-and-3 to tie the game at 7-all.
When it comes to third downs, it was that kind of a day for the Carolina defense in a home loss that dropped the team to 1-5.
It's been that kind of season for the Panthers' defense, which entered the game allowing the NFL's fourth-highest third-down conversion rate (47.4%) and did nothing to change that Sunday, allowing the NFC South-leading Falcons to convert 50% (6-of-12) of their third downs.
Horn admitted that third down is beginning to get into the heads of the Panthers' defensive players.
"That's money down," he said. "It's win or lose games. It's a lot of momentum on those downs. We've just got to be better."
The Panthers have to get better at a lot of things defensively. They rank near the bottom of the league in most key categories, and the Falcons took advantage of them at Bank of America Stadium.
But third down was the most glaring one because quarterback Andy Dalton, running back Chuba Hubbard and the offense were doing enough to keep pace until the fourth quarter.
But each time they did something to tighten the score, a third-down breakdown allowed Atlanta to stretch the margin again.
Horn said that's the most frustrating part, knowing the past few years the offense had limitations that didn't allow the team to win when the defense was playing well.
"Now they're doing more than enough every week for us to win," he said. "We haven't gone out and had that dominating performance on defense yet. Chuba has been running the ball great. Andy and Diontae [Johnson] have been balling.
"The defense, we haven't quite put it together yet."
He's right. Dalton had a solid first half completing 16-of-22 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns to have the Panthers within striking distance (22-17). He continued to play well until throwing two late interceptions while trying to overcome a two-score deficit.
Hubbard rushed 18 times for 92 yards, his fourth straight game with 90 or more yards.
But the defense, undermanned with five starters out with injuries, couldn't stop an Atlanta run game that ranked 26th in the NFL coming into the game. The Falcons rushed for a season-high 198 yards, more than double their season average.
Atlanta also wasn't very good on third down before Sunday, ranking 26th in the NFL in efficiency at 30.8%.
"We can't stop anything," Horn said. "That's just what it is right now."
As down as Horn was, Hubbard and the offensive players believe the team is close to turning the corner.
"I just feel we see glimpses of greatness," Hubbard said. "I feel like the more consistent we can be, the more it shows up, the better things are going to come for us."
In time the defense will get players back. Jadeveon Clowney (shoulder) could return next week at Washington. Fellow outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum (quadriceps) is getting close to beginning his window to return from injured reserve.
Cornerback Dane Jackson (hamstring) and safety Jordan Fuller (hamstring) could be ready to play soon.
That's why, when asked whether the defense could be fixed, Horn defiantly responded, "Hell yeah!"
"It can be fixed," he added. "You gotta bite down on our mouthpiece and go out there and win. Win on first and second down. Then, when we get to third-and-long, we've got to strap up and do our job on the back end."