Falcons face off against Panthers in NFC South duel – NFL Week 14: Preview
Atlanta Falcons will face off against National Football Conference South Division rivals Carolina Panthers on Sunday at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The Falcons are second in NFC South and in the thick of a three way tussle for the two NFC wild card playoff spots with Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions and a victory at Panthers will give a big boost to their playoff dreams.
Atlanta Falcons have an ace up their sleeve as they look to rebound from last week’s 17-10 loss to Houston Texans.
Running back Michael Turner is in great form this season and his performance will be crucial for victory over Carolina Panthers. Turner has this season covered 992 yards from 233 attempts scoring eight touchdowns. Turner also loves
playing against the Panthers and his previous record against the franchise is phenomenal. The running back has covered 707 yards scoring 11 touchdowns in the past seven meetings with the Panthers and will be rearing to improve on those statistics on Sunday.
"He's going to be real big, especially this week," wide receiver Roddy White said. "He's had a lot of success against these guys. We always get off to a good start and get the ball in his hands. He opens up the play action pass
for us.”
Carolina Panthers Coach Ron Rivera also knows full well the impact Turner can have on the game and will look to stop the running back a job made more difficult by the fact that both Panthers starting Defensive Tackles Sione Fua
and Terrell McClain are on the injured reserve.
"It kind of takes the wind out of your sails a little bit," Rivera said. "The big thing with (Turner) is you can't allow him to get started because he is tough to bring down."
The Panthers who are on two game winning streak with wins over Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will depend on rookie Cam Newton to continue his mesmerizing performances. Newton broke the NFL’s record last week for the
most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback against the Buccaneers last week.
Newton has been in devastating form even though his colleagues have failed to perform with 13 rushing touchdowns. He also has 13 passing touchdowns this season covering 3,297 yards and a 60.8% pass completion rate.
Newton in an interview with ESPN said that he hates losing and wants his teammates to buck up and play at his level to end the regular season on a high.
Coach Ron Rivera is proud of his number one draft pick and is impressed with the progress Newton has made since joining the Panthers
"He most certainly is getting better and better each week," Rivera said "He's getting a greater understanding and feel for what we want to do and what we need to do."
Sparks are likely to fly in Sunday’s encounter and the Falcons will need their own quarterback Matt Ryan to find his feet again after a poor performance against Houston Texans. Falcons fans will hope their team emerges victorious
from the encounter to gain the initiative in the race for the wildcard playoff spots.
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