The Carolina Panthers looked entirely like a serious Super Bowl contender in Week 1 after thrashing the Dallas Cowboys. The same couldn’t be said of the Atlanta Falcons, who struggled mightily against the Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday. That said, Atlanta is coming off a long rest, so the Falcons will be less fatigued when they take on an inspired Carolina unit in Week 2 of the new NFL season.
If Week 1’s 16-8 win by the Carolina Panthers over the Dallas Cowboys was any indication of what’s to come, then it’s fair to expect that Cam Newton and company are going places this season. In the Panthers’ first regular season game with Norv Turner as their offensive coordinator, Newton passed for only 161 yards on 17-of-26 completions to go with 58 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. While Newton’s numbers against Dallas do not jump out of the stat sheet, it’s clear that Turner’s arrival in Carolina won’t take away much of the quarterback’s ability to use his legs.
On defense, the Panthers made sure Dak Prescott won’t be a factor, as they sacked the Cowboys’ quarterback six times to limit Dallas to only 138 passing yards.
One cause of concern for the Panthers ahead of the Atlanta game is the health of tight end Greg Olsen, who left the Dallas game in the first half with an apparent foot injury. He was seen on on crutches after the halftime and did not return to the game, which suggests that he’ll likely be out for at least Week 2’s matchup withe Atlanta.
The Panthers are 7-3 ATS in their last 1o road games.
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons (0-1)
The Falcons had an embarrassing start to their season, as they fell to the Philadelphia Eagles on the road lasts Thursday, 18-12. Maybe a game at home is all that they need to recover. Atlanta is 7-3 SU and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games as the home team dating back to January of last year.
Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was horrible in his first game of the season, as he completed just 21 of 43 passes for 251 yards against the Eagles. He had zero touchdowns and was intercepted once. If it weren’t for the sure hands of wide receiver Julio Jones, it could’ve gotten worse for Ryan and the Falcons’ offense. However, Jones was only effective when Ryan is not targeting him in the end zone, as Atlanta was only 1-for-5 in the red zone against Philly, with the lone score being a rushing TD by Tevin Coleman.
Up against another stout defense in the form of Carolina’s stop unit this coming Sunday, Ryan will have to spread his passes a little bit more, as the Panthers are expected to gang up on Jones, who had 169 receiving yards on 10 receptions last week.
Writer’s Prediction
Atlanta bounces back and gets a 24-21 victory over Carolina.
