The Panthers visited NFC South rival Atlanta in a bid to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. Chris Weinke continued to start at QB in place of injured stater Jake Delhomme. The Falcons opened the scoring with a field goal from NFL legend Morten Andersen which set the all-time record for field goals, cementing the Dane's place in league history. The Panthers opened the game with several running plays which would set the tone for the game. The Panthers' drive stretched into the 2ndquarter where they scored on a 1-yard pass from Weinke to sparingly used TE Jeff King. Kicker John Kasay would later extend the lead to 7 with a field goal. The game ended 10-3. In total the Panthers only passed 7 times, connecting on 4. Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning called a running play 52 times, including many from the archaic single-wing formation which would later result in being known as the "Wild Cat Formation" used almost exclusively by the Miami Dolphins that Dan brought over with him after being let go end of the season. However, even though the Panthers improved to 7-8 with their win, they would fall out of the playoff race with Atlanta with the New York Giants' Week 17 Saturday night win over the Washington Redskins.. How many times did the Panthers run the ball?