CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Atlanta Falcons linebacker Mykal Walker has no explanation for why his team has struggled at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season and performed so much better away from there.
“I don’t see any difference between playing on the road or at home,” Walker said. “But now we’ve got to make the home field a home-field advantage. For us, we know what we’ve got to do now – and that’s go 4-0 the rest of the way.”
Matt Ryan threw for 190 yards and a touchdown, Walker returned an interception of Cam Newton 66 yards for a touchdown and the Falcons improved to 6-2 away from home with a 29-21 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 58 yards and a touchdown as Atlanta (6-7) kept its playoff hopes alive. The Falcons now have to find a way to win at home, where they are 0-5 under first-year head coach Arthur Smith.
“The guys made a commitment to shut down the run game,” Smith said, referring to his team allowing 203 rushing yards in a 19-13 loss to the Panthers on Oct. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “Defense did a nice job getting three takeaways. We played great complementary football.”