By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA(AP) -- Matt Ryan has a new favorite receiver. No surprise
who it is.

Ryan threw three touchdown passes, hooking up with Tony Gonzalez
for the second week in a row, and the Atlanta Falcons held off
the Carolina Panthers 28-20 on Sunday.

Through his first two games with the Falcons, Gonzalez has 12
catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Just what Atlanta had
in mind when it dealt for a tight end who figures to end up in
Canton - and starting 2-0 is just what Gonzalez had in mind when
he asked to be traded by lowly Kansas City.

The Falcons already have matched the Chiefs' win total for all
of last season.

"Not a bad start at all," Gonzalez said. "It's just great to be
part of a team like this."

Ryan had a big first half, which included a brilliant fingertip
grab by Gonzalez on a 24-yard score. Jason Snelling and Roddy
White also hauled in TD passes, giving Atlanta a 21-13 lead at
the break.

Ryan completed 13 straight passes at one point and finished 21
of 27 for 220 yards, though he did have his first interception
of the season. Gonzalez led the Falcons again with seven
receptions for 71 yards.

"He's one of the greatest tight ends of all time," Ryan said.
"That was a huge pickup for us. He makes big plays for us in
different situations when we need him. I've enjoyed playing with
him thus far."

Jake Delhomme played much better for the Panthers, looking
nothing like the quarterback who had 11 turnovers in his last
two games. But his 25-of-41, 308-yard passing performance was
marred by that familiar problem - an interception with 2 1/2
minutes remaining near the Atlanta end zone - and the defending
NFC South champions are off to an 0-2 start.

"It couldn't be any worse than last week," said Delhomme,
referring to his four-interception, one-fumble fiasco in a 38-10
loss to Philadelphia. "I felt good out there today. Last week, I
put too much pressure on myself. This week, I got back to being
just plain Jake."

The Falcons looked to be in good shape after Michael Turner
powered over from the 1 with 12:27 remaining, stretching the
lead to 28-13 lead.

Back came Delhomme and the Panthers. A 10-play, 80-yard drive
made it 28-20, and Carolina was in position to force overtime
with a touchdown and a two-point conversion after driving to a
first down at the Falcons 17. But three straight incompletions
left the Panthers in desperation mode.

On fourth-and-10, Delhomme tried to force in a pass to Steve
Smith near the end zone. Chris Houston stepped in front to pick
it off at the 4 before being slammed out bounds by Smith, who
had a huge game with eight catches for 131 yards despite being
hurt on the final play of the first half.

The Panthers had one last chance after forcing an Atlanta punt.
Delhomme completed four straight passes to get the ball to the
Atlanta 43 with eight seconds left.

For the final pass, the Falcons stationed 6-foot-5 receiver
Brian Finneran as an extra defensive back. Finneran and Brent
Grimes went up together to bat the ball down, and Grimes got a
hand on it - but nearly knocked it to a Carolina receiver.
Dwayne Jarrett dove for the ball and rolled over cradling it,
but it clearly hit the turf before he got his hands extended.

The replay officials upstairs ordered a review, just to make
sure the clock had run out. The head coaches and a couple of
players from each team were the only ones left on the field when
the game officially ended.

"I guess we would've had to go get some guys out of the
showers," Falcons coach Mike Smith joked.

DeAngelo Williams scored on a 3-yard run to give Carolina a
short-lived 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. John Kasay
kicked a couple of field goals, including a 50-yarder.

Gonzalez isn't the only newcomer off to a great start with the
Falcons. Linebacker Mike Peterson had a big game for the second
week in a row, leading the team with nine tackles, forcing a
fumble, breaking up a pass and catching a punt that was blocked
by Brian Williams.

NOTES: The Falcons are 2-0 for only the second time in the last
11 years. ... Richard Marshall picked off Ryan in the first
quarter but was called for a crucial pass interference penalty
that set up Turner's TD. ... Atlanta sustained a potentially
damaging loss when its first-round pick, DT Peria Jerry, was
carted to the training room in the fourth quarter, appearing to
have injured his left knee. The Falcons did not reveal the
seriousness of his condition. ... RB Jerious Norwood took a blow
to the head on his only carry and didn't return. Snelling filled
in well, hauling in the first TD catch of his career. ... The
Falcons wore throwback uniforms from their debut season in 1966.