By Charles Odum

Associated PressFLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The first home loss of the season for Michael Turner and the Atlanta Falcons provided a painful reminder of how quickly they can fall behind in the tough NFC South.

The Falcons dropped to 6-4 with their 24-20 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the team's first loss after four wins in the Georgia Dome.

More bad news came from other scores in the competitive NFC South.

"It's tough," center Todd McClure said Monday. "I went home last night and tried to look at the highlights to see how the teams in our division did, and they all pulled out wins."

The Falcons fell to third place in the division, two games behind first-place Carolina, which beat Detroit, and one game behind Tampa Bay, which beat Minnesota. New Orleans is fourth in the division at 5-5 after a win against Kansas City.

Atlanta can gain ground when it plays three of its next four games against division opponents, including a home game against Carolina next Sunday.

"We still control our own destiny," McClure said. "We play them all one more time. We've just got to make it happen and then let the chips fall where they may."

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