The Carolina Panthers still believe they can catch the New Orleans atop the NFC South division, but they can’t afford to lose games if they plan to succeed with their plan. The Atlanta Falcons are buried in the bottom of the division, but a win against the Panthers will inject them with even more confidence. The Panthers and the Falcons are both +10000 to win the NFC South.
The Falcons finally snapped their six-game winning streak last Sunday, and they did it in a surprising fashion, upsetting the NFC South leaders, New Orleans Pelicans on the road, 26-9. Matt Ryan passed for only 182 yards but had two passing touchdowns against an interception, while running back Brian Hill paced the team with 61 rushing yards on 20 carries, while also catching a TD pass. Hill could get more work going forward, as Atlanta’s RB1, Devonta Freeman suffered a foot injury in the Saints game. Freeman is reportedly going to be out for two weeks. The Falcons also learned that tight end Austin Hooper suffered a sprained MCL, and as of the moment, he’s questionable at best for the Panthers game. The Falcons hope that their pass rush will be as lethal in Week 11 as it was in Week 10 when it sacked Drew Brees six times that resulted in a loss of 46 yards for New Orleans.
The over is 3-1 in the Falcons’ last four road games.
Betting on the Carolina Panthers (5-4)
The Panthers will move forward this season without Cam Newton, as the star quarterback is now considering to go under the knife to repair his injured foot. That means the Panthers will live and die with Kyle Newton under center, though, their offense is really defined and guided by what Christian McCaffrey could do. McCaffrey rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in last Sunday’s 24-16 road loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Allen did have a passable game, tossing for 307 yards and a touchdown with an interception on 28-of-43 completions. The Falcons’ defense in Week 10 could merely be just an anomaly caused by Atlanta catching the Saints on a bad day, so Allen and company might not have to deal with that kind of ferocious defense. Speaking of sacks, the Panthers could be the ones to thrive in the pass rush, as they are No. 1 in the NFL with 36 quarterback takedowns.
The Panthers are 2-0 against the spread (ATS) in their last two home games.
