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ATLANTA (AP) — DeAngelo Williams could feel his team recovering from last week's 28-point loss to Philadelphia when he beat Atlanta cornerback Chris Houston for a 3-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

The Panthers were moving the ball with ease, and quarterback Jake Delhomme seemed close to overcoming the mistakes that led to his 11 combined turnovers in two previous games.

It wasn't long, however, before Peterson popped the ball loose, and time ran out on Carolina,

"It was tough," Williams said after rushing 16 times for 79 yards. "We didn't make enough plays to win this game, and it showed. We looked better than last week, but there aren't any moral victories in this league."

PETERSON MAKING PLAYS: Mike Peterson is making Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff look good for signing him as a free agent six months ago.

To critics who suggested Peterson's better days were behind him in the NFL, the 11th-year linebacker made plays for the second straight week to help Atlanta win.

Late in the third quarter of Sunday's 28-20 win over Carolina, Peterson jarred the ball loose from running back DeAngelo Williams, and Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud recovered at the Panthers' 47-yard line.

Twelve plays later, Michael Turner's 1-yard touchdown run gave the Falcons a 28-13 lead.

"Oh, man. I was just running to the ball and trying to put my head on the ball and go right through the ball carrier," Peterson said. "We're 2-0. There's some teams out there that are 0-2. I'm just glad we're 2-0 and moving forward."

Against the Dolphins, Peterson had an interception that led to an Atlanta touchdown and caused a fumble that led to a field goal.

When Brian Williams blocked a punt late in the first quarter Sunday, Peterson caught the loose ball and returned it 9 yards to the Atlanta 47. One play later, Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez hooked up for a 24-yard TD that put the Falcons up 7-3.

Panthers coach John Fox was disappointed that Williams had such a clear lane to punter Jason Baker.

"We did have someone get beat on the outside, and we did bobble the snap," Fox said. "It was a combination of things."

MISTAKES REDEEMED: Houston knew he had disappointed his teammates after Williams' TD gave the Panthers a 10-7 lead. Though it might have appeared Houston was loafing in pursuit, the third-year cornerback disagreed.

"I just left him too much space," Houston said. "You can't leave a good runner space. I should've just took more grass and cut the space down."

Two plays beforehand, Houston blew coverage when Steve Smith caught a 28-yard pass over the middle to the Atlanta 32.

Houston redeemed himself late in the fourth quarter, however, stepping in front of Smith at the Atlanta 4 and intercepting Delhomme.

"It was a double move, and the coaches had alerted us to a double move in the end zone," Houston said. "He ran like a little in-and-out, and I just leveraged it and made a play on the ball."

NO SMACK TALK: Brian Williams never intended to engage Smith in an argument after the Panthers' star receiver yelled repeatedly at him midway through the fourth.

Though he finished with eight catches for 131 yards, Smith was angry about his offensive pass interference penalty that wiped out a 10-yard catch that would've advanced Carolina to the Atlanta 13.

Smith, who limped off the field after the play but quickly returned, had to be restrained from lunging at Brian Williams during a timeout that followed the penalty.

Two years ago at the Georgia Dome, former Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall squabbled so much with Smith that Atlanta failed to hold a late lead and lost.

"I ain't for all that, man," Brian Williams said. "I'm here to play ball. He can say whatever he want. It's football. I don't know what he got mad about. That's on him."