CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Twice this season, the Carolina Panthers have faced late-game situations where they could have gone for their opponents’ jugular. Both times, they played conservatively. The results: A tie with the Cincinnati Bengals and a loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The first could eventually help the Panthers in the lowly NFC South. The second made the continuous talk about still being alive for a playoff spot seem a bit foolish. It has been 43 days since Carolina’s last win.

The Panthers had a golden chance to snap their five-game winless streak Sunday. The offense was rolling, and the Falcons were on the ropes. But instead of pushing forward, the Panthers called three straight runs, gained four yards and missed a 46-yard field goal that would have put them ahead.

“If we throw it and they intercept, then everybody goes, ‘Well, they gambled and it cost them,'” coach Ron Rivera said. “Get them out of timeouts, kick the field goal, go up. And the way we were playing on defense, I felt pretty good about that.”

But Rivera also could have felt good about how his quarterback was playing. After a miserable three-plus quarters, Cam Newton had suddenly come alive in the fourth. He completed five of his final six passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns against the NFL’s No. 32 pass defense. But the throwing stopped when the Panthers drove to the Falcons’ 32-yard line with 1:42 left.

For what it’s worth, at least one player wasn’t second-guessing the play calls on Monday. Tight end Greg Olsen, who was visibly upset coming off the field after the three runs, claimed his frustration was about execution.

The Panthers didn’t want to kick a field goal at that moment. The goal was to pick up a first down on the ground, drain all the time off the clock, and then attempt a closer kick. That didn’t work out as planned.

“Those three plays called should have gotten more than four yards, and that’s on us. You have to be able to run the ball in this league when they know you’re going to run,” Olsen said. “We’re in field goal range, we have a really good kicker, we need to be able to run the ball for a first down in three plays and get 10 yards, and we didn’t. That’s on us. We’ve got to do a better job.”

Perhaps Olsen was just saying the right thing. Maybe he truly felt the Panthers should have been more aggressive. But they weren’t, so not only are they still searching for their first win since Week 5, but they’re also looking for the coach formerly known as “Riverboat Ron.”

“The easy thing is to second-guess,” Rivera said. “The hard thing is to sit there and realize I don’t have the benefit of sitting there and being able to have hindsight because that’s 20-20. No, I’m not going to second-guess my decision.”

NOTES: The Panthers have lost five in a row for the first time since Weeks 3-8 in 2012. Their six-game winless streak is their longest since they lost seven straight from Weeks 8-14 in 2010. … QB Cam Newton, who threw no interceptions in his first three games this season, has thrown a pick in seven straight games. That ties him with Steve Beuerlein (2000) and Jake Delhomme (2003-04) for the longest streak in franchise history. … K Graham Gano missed two field goals in a game for the first time since Nov. 20, 2011, when he was with the Washington Redskins.

REPORT CARD VS. FALCONS

–PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus — QB Cam Newton was terrible for more than three quarters, but he flipped the switch in the fourth, leading the Panthers on two quick scoring drives. Newton completed 23 of 37 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. WR Kelvin Benjamin caught the first score, tipping the ball to himself while falling down in the end zone. Benjamin had a career-high nine receptions, catching seven of his eight targets in the second half.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus — Despite his low production, RB DeAngelo Williams again started. He averaged 4.1 yards on 10 carries, his second-best average since he picked up 5.1 yards a carry in Week 1. RB Jonathan Stewart mustered 24 yards on seven carries while RB Fozzy Whittaker saw some surprise snaps in the fourth quarter, gaining 11 yards on three carries.

–PASS DEFENSE: C — Playing behind a suspect offensive line, Falcons QB Matt Ryan took what the Panthers gave him. His longest completion was a 26-yarder to WR Roddy White. Ryan and White also connected for a 2-yard touchdown. The Panthers did not intercept Ryan, and they sacked him just twice.

–RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus — After shutting down the Eagles’ run game, the Panthers did the same to the Falcons. They rushed for just 86 yards, led by RB Steven Jackson’s 41 yards on 17 carries.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C-minus — K Graham Gano missed two field goals in a game for the first time since Nov. 20, 2011, when he was with the Redskins. Both of his attempts — from 46 and 63 yards — would have put the Panthers ahead. P Brad Nortman downed three of his six punts inside the 20-yard line. Dangerous Falcons PR Devin Hester fair-caught two punts and returned none.

–COACHING: D-minus — Most of the post-game focus is on coach Ron Rivera’s decision to take his foot off the gas when the Panthers were driving late in the fourth quarter. It was the type of conservative decision that saw him lose a handful of close games during his first 34 games in Carolina. Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott dialed up a solid plan against the Falcons, who had to dink and dunk their way to 19 points.