The Carolina Panthers are running out of chances to beat a good team.
And according to veteran wideout Steve Smith, there are players who are running out of opportunities to be around if - and when - the Panthers' fortunes turn.
The Panthers blew a three-score lead for the second time in four weeks Sunday, falling to Atlanta 31-23 after folding in the second half under the weight of two Cam Newton interceptions, another missed field goal by Olindo Mare and a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown catches by rookie receiver Julio Jones.
The Panthers (4-9) were looking for their first three-game winning streak since the end of the 2009 season, and searching for their first victory over a playoff-caliber opponent. The four wins have come against teams with a combined winning percentage of .231.
The Panthers have made the focus of the second half of the season on building toward the future. Without mentioning anyone by name, Smith said there are players who won't be part of those plans.
"It's audition for employment next year. And there's going to be some people, I hate to say it, they ain't going to be employed. ... Some people may say, that's pretty mean for him to say. But you know what, this is the real world," Smith said.
Having lived in Charlotte 11 years, Smith then made a banking analogy.
"If you don't bring anything to the table but liabilities, you've got to do what some of these banks need to do - go ahead and cut your losses," added Smith, who had six catches for 125 yards to surpass 10,000 yards for his career.
"I think that's kind of the aura coach (Ron) Rivera is bringing. You're no more on scholarship. You're out of college. You've got to carry your weight around here or we're going to ship you out of here."
For 30 minutes, it looked like the Panthers were ready to ship the Falcons (8-5) back to Atlanta with a dent in their playoff hopes. With a 16-point second quarter that included long touchdowns by tight end Greg Olsen and tailback DeAngelo Williams, the Panthers led 23-7 at the half.
But as they've done throughout the season - including a loss to Detroit last month when they blew a 17-point lead - the Panthers stalled in the second half. A three-and-out to begin the half led to a Matt Bryant field goal that cut the lead to 23-10.
On the following possession Newton made a mistake that changed the game. Under pressure from John Abraham and Corey Peters on first down, Newton tried to flip a left-handed pass to Jonathan Stewart.
But he tossed it to linebacker Mike Peterson, and the Falcons took over at the Carolina 35-yard line. Two plays later, Matt Ryan lofted a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jacquizz Rodgers and the Falcons were within 6.
"It was terrible," Newton said. "I was trying to get the ball to Stew, trying to avoid the sack. I threw it with my left hand and I shouldn't have. I should have just ate a sack."
Newton was intercepted on the next possession, as well. On second-and-long, Newton sailed a pass over the head of Brandon LaFell and into the arms of safety William Moore.
The Falcons did not score after the second interception - Bryant missed a field goal - but Newton had lost his rhythm. Newton completed 9 of 13 first-half passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and had a passer rating of 146.5 (158.2 is considered perfect).
He finished 19 of 39 for 276 yards, with a rating of 67.9. The Panthers are 0-9 when Newton has a turnover; 4-0 when he does not.
Rivera said Newton might have been pressing after the interceptions. Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson said the Falcons talked at halftime about forcing turnovers to shorten the field for their offense.
"With young quarterbacks that is what you want to do - give them a lot of different looks and try to get after them," Robinson said. "Cam is going to be a great quarterback, but we had to make it as hard as possible on him."
Trailing 24-23, the Panthers had a chance to reclaim the lead on Mare's 36-yard field goal with 5:16 left. But Mare pulled it left, as he did on a 31-yard miss at the end of a 24-21 loss to Minnesota in Week 8.
"I have no excuse," Mare said. "The only excuse is I just didn't do my job."
Two plays after Mare's miss, Ryan threw down the middle for Jones, who beat cornerback Darius Butler for a 75-yard touchdown. The 6-foot-3 Jones, with a 5-inch height advantage on Butler, had beaten the Panthers' No. 3 corner on a 17-yard touchdown earlier.
Jones had two drops last week in a 17-10 loss to Houston, including one in the end zone on the final play. But Ryan kept coming back to him on Sunday.
"I guess they felt like they had a good matchup," Butler said. "We were going at it all game. I made some plays early, and he made some big plays late."
"We still have a long ways to go," Rivera said. "We are a young team that has to understand you have to keep going and put the foot down on the accelerator, which we didn't do."
