The undefeated Carolina Panthers (14-0) travel to play the Atlanta Falcons (7-7) this week. Players to watch in this matchup are the NFL’s fourth-leading passer, Matt Ryan (3,951 yards, 18 TDs), and fourth-leading rusher, Jonathan Stewart (989 yards, 6 TDs). It will begin Sunday, Dec 27 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX.
The Week 14 matchup between the Falcons and the Panthers ended in a 38-0 loss for Atlanta. Julio Jones had a solid performance in that game, registering seven catches for 88 yards. Ted Ginn Jr. had a great outing for Carolina, totaling two catches for 120 yards and two TDs. Cam Newton had a big day as well, contributing 265 yards and three TDs through the air.
Carolina is a six-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 46 points.
The Falcons enter the game with records of 7-7 Straight Up (SU) and 5-9 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In the past five games, Atlanta is 1-4 for both SU and ATS.
Moving to the road team, the Panthers have 14-0 SU and 10-4 ATS records this season. They are the league’s second-highest scoring offense on the road, averaging 31.9 points per road game. Hopefully Atlanta’s defense shows up ready to play. It will be matching up against a Panthers offense that is gaining yardage at a higher rate as of late, averaging 412.6 total yards over its last five games. Shifting to the other side of the ball, the Carolina defense can dominate if it takes advantage of some favorable matchups. The Falcons are matching up with Carolina’s defense at an inopportune time. Over the last five games, Carolina’s opponents have only averaged 273 yards per game. The Falcons might be concerned with the turnover-forcing abilities of the Carolina defense, which leads the league with 2.5 turnovers per game. The Panthers don’t waste time early in the game, averaging 6.6 points in the first quarter this year. The Falcons are one of the most penalized teams during home games, with an average of 78.3 penalty yards per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Car, ATS Winner – Car, O/U – Under
Notes
Atlanta is 1-9 ATS in its last 10 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 5 games.
Atlanta is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games.
Atlanta is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games at home.
Atlanta is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Atlanta’s last 8 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 5 games when playing Carolina.
Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Carolina.
Atlanta is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Carolina.
Atlanta is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Carolina.
Carolina is 13-0 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Atlanta is 3-1 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter.
Atlanta is only 1-5) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 3-2 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Since the beginning of last season, Carolina is 8-2 SU against NFC South opponents, while Atlanta is an even 5-5 SU against division foes.
Carolina is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its third-ranked rushing attack will face the 14th-ranked run defense of Atlanta, while its sixth-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 17th-ranked run game of the Falcons.
