The Carolina Panthers travel to Atlanta, Ga., on Sunday, Dec. 8 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face the Atlanta Falcons. Both teams come into Week 14 with a loss last week, Carolina to the Washington Redskins and Atlanta to the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta is looking for their second win over Carolina this season. The last time the two teams met in divisional play in Charlotte, the Falcons ran all over the Panthers, winning 29-3. Atlanta leads the all-time series and won the last four meetings between the two teams. Atlanta is heavily favored to win the game with 67.8 percent win probability, but Carolina is coming into this week under the leadership of interim head coach Perry Fewell following the firing of former head coach Ron Rivera on Tuesday.
Carolina Panthers Notables
The Panthers come into this game 5-7 on the season, losing the last four in a row. Kyle Allen has completed 225 of 366 passes for 2,457 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions for the mediocre 83.6 rating. Christian McCaffrey, who has basically carried the Panthers when not being targeted by their opponent, has 235 carries for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. D.J. Moore has posted 74 receptions for 980 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season. Mario Addison has consistently led the Panthers with nine-and-a-half sacks while James Bradberry and Donte Jackson lead the team with three interceptions each. Rookie Joey Slye is 25 of 29 on extra points and 19-for-26 on field goal attempts.
Offense
Allen passed for 278 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for his second career rushing touchdown against the Redskins last week. Allen’s record completions came in the Week 11 matchup between the two teams when he recorded 31.
McCaffrey recorded 102 scrimmage yards and seven receptions in Week 13 and became the fifth running back in league history with three career seasons of 75 or more receptions. McCaffrey also has posted 2,162 career receiving yards and surpassed Roger Craig for the most receiving yards by a running back in the first three season of NFL history; despite consistent losses, McCaffrey is also consistently breaking records. In the Week 11 meeting against Atlanta, he posted 11 catches for 191 scrimmage yards and is going for his fourth game in a row against Atlanta with 11 or more catches and 135 or more scrimmage yards.
Moore posted 75 receiving yards and a touchdown catch last week against Washington and posted eight catches for 95 yards in the last game between the teams. Moore is going his sixth game in a row with 75 or more receiving yards and his ninth game in a row with five or more receptions and ranks fourth in the NFL with 980 receiving yards. He only needs to post 20 more receiving yards to achieve his first career 1,000-yard season.
Curtis Samuel leads the team with five receiving touchdowns this season and posted a receiving touchdown in the game against Washington last week.
Defense
Luke Kuechly posted a pass deflection last week and has recorded 50 since 2014, the most among league running backs. Mario Addison added one-and-a-half sacks to his stats last week and also posted a sack and forced a fumble in the last meeting between the two teams. Addison, with nine-and-a-half sacks on the season, is one of two players with nine or more sacks in the last four seasons.
Bruce Irvin also posted a sack and a forced fumble last week and is going for his third game in a row with a sack. Eric Reid led the team with eight tackles and posted his sixth career sack in Week 13. He is only player with more than 90 tackles and four or more sacks this season.
Greg Olsen and Greg Little are listed as out on the injury report while Mario Addison and Garrett McGhin are questionable.
Atlanta Falcons Notables
The Falcons come into this week 3-9 on the season with the prior win against Carolina in Week 11. However, they lost to the New Orleans Saints last week. Matt Ryan has a total of 301 of 447 completed passes for 3,246 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a rating of 92.2. Devonta Freeman has 124 carries for 422 yards to lead the team and Julio Jones has posted 64 receptions for 950 yards and four touchdowns. Grady Jarrett leads the Falcons with five-and-a-half sacks and Desmond Trufant has four interceptions on the season. Younghoe Koo has kicked five of six extra points and 12 of 14 field goals in the four games he has played this season.
Offense
Last week, Ryan passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns in addition to throwing two interceptions and passed for 311 yards and a touchdown in the last meeting between the teams. In Ryan’s last four starts at home against Carolina, he has recorded 1,389 passing yards and 10 touchdowns versus two interceptions for a 117.5 rating. Ryan will be aiming to record just 34 passing yards in this game to become the 10th player in NFL history with 50,000 passing yards.
Freeman posted nine receptions and 108 scrimmage yards with a receiving touchdown in his last game against the Panthers. Freeman, in his last four games at home versus a divisional opponent, has recorded 440 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns.
Jones recorded 91 receiving yards in the last meeting and has 622 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his last four home games against Carolina. He is going for his 10th game in a row versus a divisional opponent with five or more catches and needs 50 yards for his sixth consecutive season with 1,000 or more receiving yards.
Calvin Ridley led the Falcons with eight receptions and 91 receiving yards against the Saints last week and recorded eight catches for 143 yards and a touchdown in the Week 11 game. Ridley is going for his fourth game in a row against Carolina with a receiving touchdown and has five touchdown catches in five career home games against an NFC South opponent.
Defense
Deion Jones led the Falcons with nine tackles and a pass deflection last week and is short just nine tackles for his third career 100-tackle season.
De’Vondre Campbell recorded 12 tackles and an interception in the last meeting and is one of four linebackers with 95 or more tackles, two or more forced fumbles and two or more interceptions.
Adrian Clayborn posted two sacks in the last meeting and Trufant has recorded three interceptions in four home games this season.
Atlanta has James Carpenter listed as out and Ty Sambrailo and Sharrod Neasman as questionable.
Both teams come into this week with something to prove, as the Falcons desperately need another win for the season, and the second win over the Panthers would give them another divisional win as well. The Panthers not only will be seeking redemption for the embarrassing losses recently but also will be aiming to come out on top after so many changes in the last two weeks, mainly the firing of Rivera.
Game Information
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
TV: FOX
