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CHARLOTTE — After fighting against the current to get back to significance in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers took down their rivals Sunday and sent a message to the league.

Sort of.

The message was something along the lines of, we're just as good as anyone else. Almost.

Carolina defeated Atlanta 28-19 on a gorgeous afternoon, setting up a Thursday night game against Miami as the Panthers enter the downhill part of their schedule. Or maybe it's the uphill part. In the NFL, it's hard to tell in November. A late-arriving crowd fought through traffic and security checks, finally settling in sometime during the first quarter of a game that had no significance at all outside the NFC South.

The lines of cars stacked up along I-85 and I-77 and eventually converged in a knot on the streets leading into the stadium area. They came from the Triad and the Triangle, driving up from Columbia and Greenville, joining Falcons fans up from Atlanta and the church traffic of Charlotte to form a uniquely Southern traffic jam.

All these years later, since the Panthers started their journey 14 seasons ago with a trip to Atlanta, this remains the biggest game on the schedule. Sunday's game, the second of the year between the NFC South rivals, seemed like a must-win for Carolina. Most of those stuck in traffic around the southern end of uptown Charlotte seemed to understand that.

A man walked in dressed in a kilt and carrying a large case drew the attention of security at the main gate. Backup was called in as guards scanned under cars and peered into bags and a bomb dog was led toward suspicious Falcons fans. The man in the kilt eventually talked his way onto the field itself. Turned out he was the bagpipe player.

Falcons fans aren't hard to spot. They all wear red jerseys with the No. 2, same as their beloved quarterback Matt Ryan, the Boston College kid considered the next great thing in football. We'll see how that turns out. Many of the Falcons fans still have red jerseys with the No. 7, same as their beloved ex-quarterback Michael Vick, in a drawer somewhere.

The truth is, since Atlanta joined the NFL in 1966, the Falcons have managed no better history, or following, than that of their Charlotte rivals. It is, in that respect, a uniquely Southern pro football rivalry.

Still, on a perfect day to be doing anything other than sitting in a loud stadium watching the Carolina Panthers play the Atlanta Falcons, a lot of people did just that. With a race on TV, with both Wake Forest and UNC playing basketball and with a perfectly good lake shining untouched in the sun just up the road, a huge crowd of sports fans watched a 3-5 team defeat a 5-3 team, rendering them both about what they were coming in.

Two middling teams playing out the middle of the schedule fighting for the cherished spot in the middle of the NFC standings. The best thing about NFL games in November is they eventually give way to NFL games in December.

"A lot of teams are built to be equal," John Fox said. "On any given Sunday. That's what makes this a tremendous game for the fans and everybody. It's a competitive game every week. The record, you can throw it out the window on Sunday. That's just the way the game is, always has been and always will be."

The records around the league reflect a vast middle where everyone seems to collide at 5-5 in November. And while .500 teams are nowhere near as much fun as 15-1 teams, or even 1-15 teams, the people still file in to watch.

"I've had a lot of fun the last three weeks," Jake Delhomme said Sunday.

The Panthers have managed to win four of six after an 0-3 start that seemed to cause far more consternation in the banks and streets of Charlotte than in the offices beneath Bank of America Stadium. Fox knew his team was one of the vast middling built to be equal. He suspected his rival down I-85 was, too.

Atlanta has managed to lose three of four to go from a sure-thing to just another NFC South team trying to remain significant. The pressure to be anything more in the NFL is relative.

In the sweaty seconds after the game ended, Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez walked off the field and into the tunnel where he stopped and posed for a picture with a Panthers fan. He smiled for the camera as his not-amused teammates walked away from defeat along with their fans and security and the bomb dog and the bagpipe player as the show left the place it will return to four days from now when they'll do it all over again.

Win or lose, all the games mean the same right now. That's the real message. In November, there's always next week.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com