The Carolina Panthers have fallen to a fifth consecutive defeat, going down 19-17 at the hands of NFC South rivals the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium this evening.

Neither side managed to get on the board in a scoreless first quarter, while both were limited to field goals in the second as the defences reigned supreme.

The hosts opened the scoring at the start of the second quarter courtesy of a Graham Gano kick, but that lead was soon wiped out by a 34-yard effort from Matt Bryant.

Bryant then ensured that his side would go into the break with a slender advantage by converting a 42-yard field goal in the dying seconds of the first half.

A third Bryant kick came at the start of the third quarter before Atlanta extended their advantage to 13 points with the first touchdown of the contest.

Matt Ryan had time to pick out his man in the endzone, looping a simple pass over the defence for Roddy White to complete a two-yard score.

The Panthers gave themselves hope in the fourth quarter by reducing the deficit to six points when Cam Newton, who had earlier thrown two interceptions, combined with Kelvin Benjamin for a 22-yard touchdown.

The hosts completed their fourth-quarter turnaround shortly afterwards as Newton found Philly Brown with a 47-yard pass to make it a one-point game.

Their lead did not last long, however, as Bryant notched his fourth field goal of the game to put the Falcons back in front.

Gano had a chance to rescue a victory for the Panthers as time expired, but his 63-yard field goal was blocked as the Falcons held on for a win that takes them to 4-6 for the season.