The Carolina Panthers (3-4) will host the Atlanta Falcons (1-6) on Thursday Night Football. During Week 5 of the season, these two teams met with the Panthers getting a 23-16 win as a 2.5-point road underdog.
Carolina did not turn the ball over and outgained Atlanta 437 to 373 total yards in the first meeting. Teddy Bridgewater led the Panthers with 27 of 36 completions for 313 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Davis rushed for 89 of the teams 124 rushing yards in the win. For Atlanta, quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked twice, threw one interception, and completed 21 of 37 passes for 226 yards in the loss to Carolina. The Falcons did run the ball effectively against the Panthers in the first meeting averaging 6.9 yards per carry and rushing for 166 yards in the game, led by Todd Gurley with 121 yards on just 14 attempts and a touchdown.
Falcons fall on final play of the game
The Atlanta Falcons fell to 1-6 with a heartbreaking 23-22 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. With the Falcons trailing 16-14 with 1:12 left to play in the fourth quarter, Todd Gurley took the handoff and rushed for a 10-yard touchdown in one of the weirdest scorings plays you will see. Gurley actually tried to fall short of the goal line at the end of the run so that Atlanta could run down the clock, but his attempt failed, and the ball broke the plane to give the Falcons the lead. After a successful two-point conversion, Atlanta led 22-16 with 1:04 left. The Lions then went on an 8 play 75-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to T.J Hockenson to give Detroit a 23-22 on the games final play.
The total yardage battle was as close as Atlanta's final score outgaining Detroit 388 to 386in total yardage. Atlanta turned the ball over once on a fumble by Matt Ryan, while the Lions did not commit any giveaways.
Matt Ryan led Atlanta in the loss completing 31 of 42 passes for 338 yards with one touchdown, connecting with Julio Jones eight times for 97 yards, and Calvin Ridley five times for 69 yards and the touchdown. Todd Gurley averaged 2.7 yards per carry and led Atlanta with 63 of his teams 66 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.
On the season, the Falcons are 13th in the NFL, scoring 26.3 points per game, third in passing offense with 295.6 yards per game, and 21st with 105.4 rushing yards per game. Defensively Atlanta is 26th in scoring defense giving up 29.6 points per game but sixth against the run only allowing 92.4 rushing yards per game. The Falcons have been the second-worst team in the NFL at defending the pass allowing 333.4 yards per game.
Panthers drop second straight game
The Panthers dropped their second straight game in a 27-24 loss to the Saints on Sunday. Teddy Bridgewater had a strong performance in the loss completing 23 of 28 passes with 254 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. DJ Moore caught both touchdown passes and had four catches overall for 93 yards. Bridgwater was unable to lead the team into field goal range on the final drive of the game, resulting in the Panthers kicker Joey Slye missing a 65-yard field goal with two minutes left to play.
In the loss, the running game was almost nonexistent for Carolina, who as a team rushed for only 37 yards on 14 carries with no runs going for more than seven yards. The Saints dominated the total yardage battle with a 415 to 283 edge, due to running for 138 yards and 4.8 yards per carry in the win.
Carolina ranks 25th in the NFL, with 23.1 points per game, 11th with 263.7 passing yards per game, and 20th with 105.4 rushing yards per game. The Panthers defense is allowing 24 points per game which is 13th, 18th against the rush allowing 124 yards, and 10th giving up 227.1 passing yards per game.
Notable Trends
- Panthers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games against Falcons
- Panthers are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 home games
- Falcons are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog.
- Falcons are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games
