for what was ultimately a promising win against a solid Cincinnati Bengals team. Fortunately Ryan Kalil Color Rush Jersey , their tendency for dangerously conservative game management didn¡¯t show itself until the game was likely out of reach. Read on to see why traditional, supposedly conservative, play calling is actually one of the riskier habits of the Carolina coaching staff.First, let¡¯s start with what Rivera did well. He elected to attempt a 4th and 4 on the Cincinnati 40. Cam Newton¡¯s pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage on a great play by Carlos Dunlap, but I support the decision to be aggressive with that down and distance and that field position. Rivera¡¯s defense, who really pulled it together in the second half, rewarded the gamble by turning the ball back around with a quick three and out that only saw them advance the ball three yards.Rivera used to often cite trust in his defense when asked about punting in these situations. It is nice to see his original faith reward and support this new philosophy of trying to win games.Unsurprisingly, there is still a little more leaf left to turn over. Rivera has done an admirable job in the last two weeks of taking the kinds of risks that win games. He did make a mistake, however, in trying to run the clock down while playing for a field goal in a one possession game. All a play has to do keep the clock rolling is finish in bounds. As far as the clock is concerned, a sack is as good as a run. The Panthers had reason to put faith in their running game, to be fair. McCaffrey ended up with 184 yards on the day. That was great. The Panthers also ran the ball six straight plays on that final drive and the Bengals saw it coming every time. That was not great. By the time the Bengals used their last timeout, the Panthers had a 2nd and 9 from the Bengals 24 with 2:26 left in the game. A sack here wouldn¡¯t necessarily put them out of Graham Gano¡¯s range and, at the same time, a field goal from that very spot is no guarantee with him.The Panthers elected to keep the ball on the ground. Two runs from McCaffrey got them through the two minute warning and gained two yards. They also forced the Panthers to a 40 yard field goal.Gano converted and made a two score deficit that Bengals couldn¡¯t erase in the time they had left. It would have been a very different game if he had missed. Another first down after the two minute warning would have ended the game, no kicks required. A sack would have resulted in a slightly longer field goal. An interception would have likely hurt the Panthers as much as a missed kick. Gano Luke Kuechly Color Rush Jersey , in his career, has missed 19.4% of his field goals from a distance between 40 and 49 yards. Cam Newton has thrown an interception on 2.7% of his pass attempts. Risking a passing attempt or two would have been worth it to try to get the first down and end the game with the ball in Newton¡¯s hands.Passing is how offenses work in the modern NFL. The Bengals were ready for a run on every down in that situation. Rivera (or possibly offensive coordinator Norv Turner) elected to turtle up and keep the ball ¡°safely¡± on the ground. Instead of trying to win, coaching decisions again increased their opponent¡¯s chances of winning at the end of the game.I want to be clear about this. We are talking about very low odds for the Bengals to come back. But we¡¯ve seen it before. I would be using much stronger words right now if Gano had missed his kick. He didn¡¯t and the Panthers won. Sometimes the wrong call works out anyway. The point of this column isn¡¯t to call the coaches bad or to say that they should take big risks on every down and in every situation. I¡¯m just here to point out the small moments that have turned games in the past. So far this season, Rivera has shown marked improvement in his decision making in these situations. He seems to be actually bucking some of his by-the-book principles on game day. I think that is great. The book he was raised on is older than the rules that govern the modern game. It seems like Rivera is learning to adapt so that he can survive. The quarterback took off running, only to find three defenders waiting for him at the goal line.No problem. He simply ran right over them.Cam Newton?Nope, Matt Ryan.Ryan threw a pair of scoring passes, which wasn¡¯t all that unusual, and also ran for two touchdowns for the first time in his career, leading the Atlanta Falcons to a 31-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.¡°I can¡¯t remember the last time I had two TDs,¡± Ryan said with a smile.Newton was rocked early on by cheap shot from Damontae Kazee , who was thrown out of the game for the helmet-to-helmet hit while the Panthers quarterback was sliding at the end of the run. Newton was able to stay in the game, throwing a pair of touchdown passes, and he had one last chance to send the game to overtime.From the Falcons 31, Newton lofted a pass into the end zone for D.J. Moore, who was double-covered and let the ball slip through his hands as time expired.¡°I had a good shot at it,¡± Moore said C.J. Anderson Jersey , ¡°but it just came down too fast.¡±While Newton rushed for 42 yards, it was Ryan who had the most significant impact with his legs.After scoring on a 1-yard sneak that pushed Atlanta (1-1) to a 24-10 lead early in the third quarter, Ryan delivered the biggest blow with a gutsy scamper midway through the fourth quarter. Looking to throw on third-and-5 from the Carolina 8, he spotted a running lane to the left and took off.There were three Carolina players waiting for him at the goal line â€?including 346-pound former teammate Dontari Poe â€?but Ryan leaped in the air and bowled them all over , falling across the goal line for the TD that restored Atlanta¡¯s two-touchdown lead over the Panthers (1-1).¡°I didn¡¯t want to slide in that situation or go down because you don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going to be marked,¡± he said. ¡°I felt something below my feet, and just went up the best I could. It was a good decision.¡±Ryan finished 23 of 28 passing for 272 yards, a performance that took some of the heat off offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. Roundly panned for his play-calling last season and in a season-opening loss to Philadelphia, he got a bunch of people involved.Eight players caught passes. Six ran the ball including Tevin Coleman, who gained 107 yards on 16 carries filling in for injured Devonta Freeman.Just like that, the Falcons resembled the high-scoring team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl two seasons ago with Kyle Shanahan as the coordinator.The most telling possession for Atlanta came with the first half winding down. Ryan completed six straight passes to five receivers â€?none of them, amazingly enough, Julio Jones.Tight end Austin Hooper had two catches for 15 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining that gave the Falcons a 17-10 halftime lead .Backup receiver Marvin Hall had a 30-yard reception, while rookie Calvin Ridley hauled in a 22-yarder. The running backs also got into the passing game, with Coleman and rookie Ito Smith also making catches.Ridley Russell Color Rush Shepard Jersey , a first-round pick from Alabama, had his first career TD on an 11-yard pass in the second quarter.CHEAP SHOTThe Panthers were livid about Kazee¡¯s hit on Newton, who was sliding to the turf at the end of a 10-yard run. Kazee came at him helmet-first, snapping back Newton¡¯s head.Carolina receiver Torrey Smith raced in to deliver a shot that sent Kazee to the turf, also drawing a personal foul penalty but not an ejection. Ricardo Allen jumped on top of Kazee to prevent any other Carolina players from going after him.Newton was quickly examined and returned to the field without missing a play.Afterward, he didn¡¯t seem too upset.¡°This game isn¡¯t fit for cheap shots like that, but at the end of the day you can¡¯t blame him,¡± Newton said. ¡°He¡¯s playing as hard as he can. I¡¯m playing as hard as I can.¡±BALANCED FALCONSCoach Dan Quinn wanted balance from his offense.Mission accomplished.The Falcons ran the ball 32 times for 170 yards. They threw 28 passes for 272 yards, finishing with the second-most total yards (442) of Sarkisian¡¯s 20-game tenure. Even more important, they scored on all four trips inside the red zone, a longstanding issue.This was the fifth time the Falcons have scored at least 30 points under Sarkisian, compared with 13 times in 19 games during the 2016 season. They have yet to score 40 points under their current coordinator; Atlanta did it six times in Shanahan¡¯s final season.INJURY REPORTThe injuries continued to pile up for both teams, which already were dealing with several missing starters.The Falcons lost starting left guard Andy Levitre to an elbow injury, while backup defensive end Derrick Shelby left with a groin injury.Carolina had a pair of starters in the secondary go down: strong safety Da¡¯Norris Searcy (concussion) and cornerback Donte Jackson (hamstring).UP NEXTPanthers: Return home next Sunday to host the Cincinnati Bengals (2-0), who have 10 days to prepare after playing this past Thursday night.Falcons: Play their second straight home game against an NFC South rival when the New Orleans Saints (1-1) visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium.___