CHARLOTTE — A funny thing happened near the end of the first half. The Falcons were driving for a touchdown. And the Panthers were calling timeouts.

That's what a team does when it has confidence in its offense to respond.

Quarterback Andy Dalton immediately answered with a touchdown in the final minute and a half of the first half, evidence of his increasing comfort in this system. The Panthers couldn't get enough stops and fell 38-20 to the Falcons, but the point stands.

The Panthers — wracked by injuries on defense — are struggling to stop opponents. But on the other side of the ball, things were going reasonably well early.

Dalton was a sharp moving the ball, keeping the Panthers in the game throughout against a high-functioning Falcons offense.

After those statement timeouts before halftime, Dalton drove the Panthers the length of the field in a hurry, hitting wide receiver Xavier Legette for the touchdown and another of the rookie's patented Dolla Bill celebrations.

And instead of being down 22-10 at halftime with the Falcons getting the ball to start the third quarter, they were down just 22-17.

That's the difference creating some hope on offense makes.

The problem remains on the other side of the ball, as a defense that's missing its best player (defensive end Derrick Brown), its defensive signal-caller (veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson), didn't have its top pass-rusher Sunday (outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney was inactive with a shoulder injury), and had other scattered injury issues (including missing linebacker Josey Jewell) couldn't stop the Falcons.

Atlanta scored on seven of its first nine possessions (not including a kneel-down to end the first half), allowing them to play keep-away late in the game. The Falcons gained 423 yards on the day, with 198 of them coming on the ground.

— Dalton was picked early in the fourth quarter and the Falcons responded with a long touchdown drive. But being within a score in the fourth quarter remains a positive step for the offense that's continuing to build a personality.

Even with the picks, Dalton's day was more good than bad.

He finished 26-of-38 for 221 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, the second pick coming inside the two-minute warning when they were down two scores.

He also showed some wheels, spilling out of the pocket for an 18-yard scramble when he was under some pressure. He can still move.

— It was a solid day for a reconstructed offensive line, for the most part.

With Brady Christensen stepping in at center and Yosh Nijman at right tackle, the Panthers held up fairly well.

Christensen had a hot snap that Dalton had to make a play on, and there were a couple of early false starts on Ikem Ekwonu, but on the whole the protection was good.

— Running back Chuba Hubbard continued his hot streak with 18 carries for 92 yards.

He was 3 yards short of 100 last week in Chicago, and he's topped 100 in the two games before then.