Only one other team in NFL history had ever started a regular season with 15 straight wins, so it's probably prudent to hold off digging a grave for the 2015 Carolina Panthers.

Yes, they have flaws, but before we get into that, here's some perspective about Sunday's loss in Atlanta:

 

Coach Ron Rivera

"We've accomplished a lot. To be 14-1 at this point in the season is tremendous, so let's not lose sight of that. This is not the end of the world, obviously. It's not even the end of the season."

Cornerback Josh Norman

"We're very blessed and fortunate enough to be in this position we are. Look, we're 14-1. How many other teams in the league can say that?"

Tight end Greg Olsen

"There's 31 other teams that wished they had our record, so we're not going to sit here and act like the world's coming to an end."

Safety Roman Harper

"I've been on a team where we lost three straight games going into the playoffs [and then won the 2009 Super Bowl] ... This is a great thing for us. I never say losing's a great thing, but we will be better because of it."

 

With all that said, the Panthers were exposed on Sunday in some areas that weren't just a one-week thing. Here are five that stuck out:

 

Third Down Defense

 

Before the Giants' game, the Panthers had allowed opposing offenses to convert just 34.8 percent of their third downs. The past two weeks, New York and Atlanta converted 50 percent of their third downs.

In their first meeting this season, the Falcons had just four third-down conversions. During Sunday's rematch, they had four conversions of eight yards or more. 

The Panthers actually stopped Atlanta on its first third down try, but the Falcons were given new life when Charles Tillman was called for a personal foul during a scuffle with Roddy White. Four conversions later, the game was tied at 7.

The Panthers final lead disappeared when the Falcons faced a 3rd-and-13 from their own 30 late in the third quarter. That's when Julio Jones outjumped Luke Kuechly after Kurt Coleman fell down.

The Panthers allowed a season-high nine third-down conversions, and because they couldn't get off the field, they finished with a season-low 24:22 time of possession. 

"That was probably the biggest disappointment," coach Ron Rivera said. "We put them in third-and-long situations and we just couldn’t get to the quarterback."

 

An APB for the DEs?

 

Of the five defensive ends who faced the Falcons, only Mario Addison (2 tackles), Charles Johnson (2 tackles) and Jared Allen (1 tackle) wound up on the official stat sheet.

The Panthers have struggled to generate pressure from the edge for a month now. Their last full sack by an end was Kony Ealy's on the Cowboys' second last play from scrimmage on Thanksgiving. In four games since, only Addison has showed up under 'sacks' in the box score. He split one with linebacker Thomas Davis two weeks ago against Atlanta.

 

Suspect Secondary

 

Bené Benwikere's broken leg received little attention nationally, but that injury may turn out to be the most important to any Panther not named Kelvin Benjamin this season. Benwikere's loss has had a devastating domino effect on the defense.

With Carolina in desperate need of a second outside cornerback, Charles Tillman's timetable to return from a partially torn ACL was accelerated. He's toughing it out gamely, but it's doubtful the 34-year-old is 100 percent. Meanwhile, Cortland Finnegan is doing his best to hold down the slot, but there's a reason he was playing pickup hoops less than two months ago.

In two games since Benwikere's injury, the Panthers' secondary has allowed five touchdown tosses while picking off just one pass. That came when Eli Manning's arm was hit as he was trying to throw the ball out of bounds.

 

Gimpy Ginn

 

People can joke all they want about Ted Ginn Jr., but the fact is he was one of the most important spokes in the wheel that was Carolina's unbeaten start.

After Ginn suffered the first of his two injuries (ribs, quad) in the second half last week, the Panthers managed three points. After Ginn injured his knee in the second quarter Sunday, the Panthers managed six points.

With Ginn gimpy, Carolina's longest pass play against the Falcons was a 19-yard reception by Philly Brown and the Panthers' 13 points were their fewest since their last regular-season loss last year in Minnesota.

 

Stewart Needed

 

Rookie Cameron Artis-Payne again provided a nice spark, and many will argue he should have had more than five carries, but the Panthers' offense can't be what it needs to be for a long postseason run without a healthy Jonathan Stewart.

With many (guilty) assuming the Panthers would lock up the NFC's top seed in Atlanta, it seemed like sitting Stewart until the playoffs would be the smart thing to do. But with home-field throughout the postseason still one win away, the Panthers may have to bring back their most important back next week against the Bucs.