 "at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia" 
Hoping to rebound from their Saturday night loss to the Cowboys and keep any playoff hope alive, the Falcons stayed at home for Christmas Eve as they played an NFC South grudge match with the Carolina Panthers.In the first quarter, Atlanta struck first with kicker Morten Andersen nailing a 40-yard field goal for the only score of the period.However, in the second quarter, the Panthers took the lead and won with QB Chris Weinke completing a 1-yard TD pass to TE Jeff King and kicker John Kasay completing a 42-yard field goal.