TNF PREVIEW: ATLANTA FALCONS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS

BY ADAM GREENE

Man, back in 2017 this would have been an absolute incredible game. What a difference a few years makes. The walking meme, disaster and recurrent Bad Beats featured Atlanta Falcons travel to the softly-rebuilt Carolina Panthers in a Thursday Night Football game that might make us long for the days when the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars were the featured Thursday contest.

Honestly, Week Eight might boast the worst prime time slate in NFL history and you can absolutely blame the league schedulers for this one. No one thought the Panthers would be good this season and the fact that they’ve won three games and have been competitive is the only real surprise with them. The Falcons have been a raging diaper fire. On Sunday, you could argue that the league tried for a marquee match up with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, but the wheels came off that one pretty quick.

What there’s no excuse for is putting the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, even if they’re hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This is New York’s second primetime showcase in back-to-back weeks. Nobody would have wanted that even in an optimal season.

ATLANTA FALCONS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (-2, O/U: 51)

Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.

Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. EST

Broadcast: FOX/NFL Network

THE HISTORY

The Panthers and Falcons rivalry predates the existence of the NFC South as both teams were, stupidly, in the NFC West until the league re-aligned in 2002. Because of that, these two squads have faced each other at least twice a season since Carolina entered the league in 1995.

Atlanta leads the all-time series 32-19 and has won eight of the last 10 contests between the two teams. The Falcons had a five-game win streak rolling when the Panthers broke it in their first game this year with a 23-16 victory on Oct. 11. Carolina quarterback Teddy Bridgewater completed 27 of 36 passing for 313 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Ryan, of the Falcons, was 21 of 37 for 226 yards and a pick. Running back Todd Gurley rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown. It was Gurley’s only 100-plus yard game this season and his first since Dec. 2, 2018 when he rushed for 132 yards and two scores in a 30-16 win over the Detroit Lions while with the Los Angeles Rams.

ATLANTA FALCONS (1-6)

What can you say about the Falcons at this point that I haven’t mocked them for relentlessly in the Power Rankings, Bad Beats and Friday Afternoon Quarterback. Their offense is still potent, in fact that was the problem last Sunday when Gurley tried to hit the brakes on a touchdown, but accidentally crossed the plane, leaving a minute on the clock for the Detroit Lions to drive the length of the field and score. Interim head coach Raheem Morris has done nothing to help remove the adjective from his title, as the team has shown no improvement since original head coach Dan Quinn got shoved out the airlock three weeks ago.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (3-4)

After a hot three game stretch, the Panthers are on a two-game skid, dropping contests to the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. They were the underdogs in both those match ups, so the fact that they kept it close, within a score both times, is a small victory for a team no one expected much from in 2020. QB Teddy Bridgewater played Drew Brees toe-to-toe, passing for 254 yards and two touchdowns with no picks. All-world running back Christian McCaffrey has returned to practice this week, but reports are he probably will be held out at least one more game.

THE PICK

At this point, how can you trust the Falcons at all with your money? Carolina has played every opponent tough this year, no matter how badly they’ve been outmatched. They can probably lay claim to the “best bad team” moniker of 2020 already. They have a chance to get back to .500 with a win over Atlanta and I say they take it. Panthers 27, Falcons 24

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