Falcons head coach Mike Smith had another notion. Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, he ordered the kicker back to the sideline.

On this day, with the secondary hemorrhaging yardage again and the Falcons holding a precarious three-point lead, Smith made the call of the season.

The first-year coach determined that a field goal wasn't going to help the team's cause against division leader Carolina Sunday at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons needed a touchdown.

The Falcons went for it, and running back Michael Turner barreled into the end zone, making a statement and paving the way to a stunning 45-28 victory over the Panthers before a sellout crowd of 64,841. The Falcons are now one game out of first place in the NFC South.

"We were able to get ourselves into what we felt was the best play," Smith said. "Our offensive line did a great job on the surge."

Smith was bucking the old Football axiom to put the sure points --- the field goal --- on the scoreboard. But after Carolina has stormed back from a 17-0 deficit to make it 24-21, the Falcons needed much more than three points.

"I really felt there was no other choice but to go ahead and do it," Smith said. "A three-point field goal, gives you a six-point lead. I thought we could score a touchdown. That made it a real easy decision."

The call was a big hit in the huddle.

"The call came in from Smitty," quarterback Matt Ryan said. "He's got confidence in us. Anytime that you've got an offensive line and guys like Mike Turner, it makes those decisions a little easier."

The linemen wanted to prove their mettle, and Turner had been pounding the ball at the Panthers.

"It was just an attitude thing," said Turner, who rushed for four touchdowns. "Carolina had a little momentum. We had to try to counter that. It was just an attitude thing. Go in there and punch it in and try to put them away."

The left side of the Falcons line all blocked down. Wayne Gandy appeared to get a good block on Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers.

"It wasn't a situation where we were trying to attack Peppers or anything," said Turner, who finished with 117 yards on 24 carries and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his five-year career. "It was just a play we wanted to execute. Peppers just happened to be on that side."

There was no hesitation along the line. Nobody ran off the field.

"Smitty said there wasn't a doubt in his mind," center Todd McClure said. "That was huge. To get that ball into the end zone at that point in the game, that was huge.

"It just comes down to a mentality and a mindset."

The touchdown gave the Falcons a 31-21 lead. After the defense got a stop, rookie Harry Douglas, who put on a show of his own, caught a Carolina punt and hit the middle seam of the coverage at rocket speed. He bounced out to the right side and scored on a 69-yard return. Elam's extra point made it 38-21 with 4:47 to play.

It was Douglas' second touchdown; he'd scored earlier on a 7-yard run.

The Panthers would not go away.

Delhomme, who carved up the secondary for 295 yards on 21-for-35 passing, tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad with 2:23 left to close within 10.

Turner closed the day with his fourth touchdown, a 16-yard run with 54 seconds left to secure the victory.

With the victory, the Falcons have thrust themselves into the NFC South Division title race as they improved to 7-4 and 2-2 in the division, one game behind Carolina and Tampa Bay.

The Falcons got a field goal on their opening drive. They are now 5-0 when they score on the opening drive.

In Carolina's 24-9 victory on Sept. 28, the Panthers held Turner to 56 yards rushing on 18 carries. He had 56 yards on 12 carries by halftime.

"We didn't maintain our blocks," McClure said of the earlier meeting. "We tried to get to the second level too quick, up to the linebackers. We didn't spend enough time pushing their linemen, and that's what we focused on today."

UP NEXT * AT CHARGERS * 4 P.M. SUNDAY * FOX * 92.9 FM