NFL Week 14 – Preview: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
The Atlanta Falcons will face NFC South division competitor, the Carolina Panthers in an NFL football game on the 12th of December Sunday afternoon at the Bank of America Stadium.
At 10 and 2, the Atlanta Falcons possess the best record in the NFL, while the Panthers, who are 1 and 11, bemoan just the opposite status as the worst team in the NFL.
Carolina Panthers bear a loss to the New Orleans Saints to fall to 3-5 and are in need of a win to draw closer in the playoff hunt. The Carolina fell 30-20 to the New Orleans and blowing
a 17-6 first half lead in the process. It was another high turnover game for the Carolina Panthers as they committed 3 turnovers last week. The Carolina has committed 24 turnovers on the season.
At 1-11 Carolina has an opportunity in the making for a huge trouble of the Atlanta Falcons and if it were to disrupt their divisional hopes it will be a lift to this lifeless Panthers team.
Carolina's defense gives up yards in bulk and their offense has trouble moving the chains more than twice on any given drive. Carolina is last in the group with 154 points scored and has
been held to an NFL low 9.8 per game at home.
The running game for Carolina got a little bit of an improvement back when Jonathan Stewart returned to the lineup, but it will take more than Stewart to bring down this Falcon's team. The
Panthers got rushing touchdowns from Mike Goodson and Jonathan Stewart to go up 14-0 last weekend, but they were shut out the rest of the way.
Carolina’s running game has been good averaging 153 yards rushing per game. Running back DeAngelo Williams has been running wild as the 4 year back has rushed for 307 yards rushing on 44
carries over his past two games. It should be interesting to see if head coach John Fox will allow Jake Delhomme to throw a lot more in this game as the Falcons secondary has been giving up major yardage through the air.
Atlanta Falcons will try to extend their longest winning streak in 12 years when they visit the struggling Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Atlanta Falcons have won six straight games, and they
appear to be unstoppable when playing at home. In last 15 games, they have won 10 and lost 2.
The Falcons allow 246 yards passing per game this season. The team is coming off a 31-17 victory over the Washington Redskins last week.
After Eric Weems took back an opening 102 yards to bring Atlanta to within three last weekends at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Matt Ryan restricted a 67 yard drive with a 9 yard touchdown pass to Michael
Jenkins with 4:31 remaining. It was his 6th game winning effort in the final quarter this year, and it gave the Atlanta Falcons a 28-24 victory.
Quarterback Matt Ryan looks to do just sufficient each week to get his team to the finish line and come out on top. Ryan finished with 205 passing yards and two touchdowns last Sunday but
recorded his lowest passer rating of the season -- 62.8 -- after he was picked off twice, snapping the Falcons' franchise record of zero turnovers in four straight games.
"When you come out and you don't play as well as you like, but you still find a way to win, those are signs of a good football team," Ryan said.
A strong offense, composed of quarterback Matt Ryan, running back Michael Turner, and wide receiver Roddy White, is complemented by a ravaging defense.
Michael Turner has begun his return to stardom as he is back to his old ways running down linebackers and anyone else is stands in his way to the end zone. He has scored five and is averaging
111 yards on the ground over his last 3 meetings with Carolina Panthers.
Michael Turner will stand a good test against the Carolina Panthers as Panthers have not allowed a 100 yard rushing performance over their past 3 games.
Coach Mike Smith is satisfied with the direction of his team, but knows there is still ample of work to be done.
"We like the position that we're in right now. I can assure you of that. Because (we're) going into this fourth quarter which to me is the most important quarter of the season," he said.
"We've earned the 10 wins and we'll take it, we've been very fortunate to do that.”
The Atlanta Falcons are 5-3 this season and in need of a win to help their drive in the second half of the season towards a playoff berth. A division title may be a difficult reach but a
putting distance between them and Carolina Panthers will be huge for the Atlanta Falcons wildcard playoff chances with a win.
The Carolina Panthers will continue to make mental mistakes. Adding to the misery is the fact that they cannot score points, while at the same time their defense cannot stop other team from
scoring points. Matt Ryan and company will have no problem taming the Panthers. Atlanta is one of the best-rounded teams in the NFL.
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