The experts don’t seem quite clear on what to expect in Sunday’s game between the Panthers and the Falcons.
The experts don’t seem quite clear on what to expect in Sunday’s game between the Panthers and the Falcons. Even though Atlanta destroyed Carolina by 26 points just a few weeks ago, they’re pretty much split on who’s going to win this week.
It’s interesting that there’s no consensus, especially considering the Falcons have had so much success against this team in recent years. That said, they are just 3-9 this season and the Panthers should be as motivated as we have ever seen them following the firing of Ron Rivera. If they can’t come together and get an emotional victory this week, then this team may be broken.
To learn more, we spoke with Matt Urben, managing editor of Falcons Wire.
The Panthers play the Falcons again this week, not long removed from a blowout 29-3 loss to Atlanta at Bank of America Stadium. Despite that dominant showing, this division rival has fallen dramatically short of expectations this season.
Panthers Wire: The Falcons are 3-9 this season and just 1-5 at home. What’s going on that has them under-performing so much?
Falcons Wire: Atlanta has been disjointed all season, but the team’s biggest issue has been its inability to play a complete game. One week, it’s the
offense starting slow, while another week, it’s the defense getting
picked apart. If I had to point to one area that’s been the biggest
disappointment, though, I’d say it’s the offensive line. The Falcons
started the season with three new starters up front, two of them
rookies. Injuries to Chris Lindstrom, James Carpenter, Alex Mack and
Jamon Brown have hindered this group from building any real chemistry.
This has led to poor protection up front and a non-existent rushing
attack. The Falcons have won just 10-of-22 games at Mercedes-Benz
Stadium and have looked a step slow at home all year.
PW: Are we going to see tight end Austin Hooper back in the lineup this week? If so, how does he help Atlanta?
FW: The Falcons’ star tight end was back at practice on Wednesday and
Thursday. He should be back out there on Sunday after suffering an MCL
sprain a few weeks ago. Hooper became QB Matt Ryan’s second-favorite
weapon this season, and his absence was especially noticeable with
backups Jaeden Graham and Luke Stocker offering very little in the
receiving game. Hooper has been a consistent threat over the middle
and his consistency this season made Mohamed Sanu expendable. If he’s
back out there, the Falcons unquestionably have a better shot at
winning.
PW: Julio Jones hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 3. Are they not using him right or is there something else wrong?
FW: Julio Jones is one of the most dominant players ever between the 20s,
but this season especially, the team isn’t getting him the ball in the
red zone. It’s mostly due to a lack of protection causing Ryan to
throw the ball before the play has developed. Some of that is on
Falcons OC Dirk Koetter. who has made fans think of the glory days
when Steve Sarkisian was calling the plays. You also can’t overlook
the presence of Austin Hooper and Calvin Ridley, each of whom have six
touchdowns this season. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the
team going forward, however.
PW: Game prediction?
FW: I think we see the same inconsistent Atlanta team we’ve seen all
season at home. The Panthers, on the other hand, are coming off of a
coaching change, which tends to wake players up. Even with Julio and
Hooper back, something is just missing from the Falcons this year.
Carolina has been the better team in 2019, and I think they give
Atlanta its sixth loss this season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday:
Falcons 20, Panthers 24.
David Tepper made a sound decision this week and it is one Jerry Jones needs to follow.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is usually the leader of the pack, considering himself an innovator. For once, Jones should play follow the leader and heed Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper’s lead.
Jones’ Cowboys are 6-7 and plummeting, having suffered their third straight loss and fourth in five games Thursday against the Chicago Bears, 31-24 in a game that was not as close as the final score.
The loss had to be mind-numbing for Jones, who watched his team open the game with a touchdown drive that lasted 17 plays and almost nine minutes only to fall flat.
The time is ripe for Jones to do right by Jason Garrett the way Tepper did by his long-term coach, Ron Rivera, this week. Tepper let Rivera go and backed up the decision with some sound and comforting reasoning.
The most important part of Tepper’s explanation came in a simple statement: “I thought it was time,” he said. “Why specifically now is I was informed of other teams doing different types of searches out there, and I’m not going to start a search and not tell Ron Rivera I’m starting a search. Too good of a man.”
Jones has stood by Garrett through rough and tough times and praised his coach, who is in his 10th season and has a record of 83-66. Garrett’s teams have made the playoffs three times, going 2-3. He has been part of the coaching staff since 2007.
The Cowboys started 2019 3-0 and have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games with the Rams, Eagles and Redskins left. Despite the loss to Chicago, Dallas will either be alone in first in the weak NFC East or tied with Philadelphia, which faces the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
The Eagles are struggling mightily, too, having lost three in a row and five of seven. The difference? Doug Pederson’s team has Super Bowl LII in their bank from Feb. 4, 2018. Jones’ Cowboys have not been to the NFL Championship Game since Super Bowl XXX after the 1995 season.
ESPN’s Todd Archer has seen this script before, writing during the Bears game:
This is looking like the final loss of the Wade Phillips’ era in 2010 – a 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The Cowboys’ defense is doing absolutely nothing, giving up three touchdowns and a field goal in four straight drives after an opening possession interception. Jerry Jones doesn’t want to make a coaching change. He might not have a choice now.
Jones does what he wants when he wants. He does not seem to want to make a move on Garrett during the season. FOX commentator Troy Aikman mentioned during the loss to the Bears one overriding issue could be no one on the current coaching staff has done a job that suggests they would be qualified to fill the role of interim coach.
“There’s no exclusive, nobody’s got the exclusive skills to get the job done so that collectively you can win a Super Bowl but they’re qualified people,” Jones said this week. “Jason Garrett is one of them and in my opinion, Jason Garrett will be coaching in the NFL next year.”
It doesn’t appear as if it will be in Dallas and Jones would be wise to heed another owner’s move and treat Garrett with respect and appreciation for time served rather than searching for the next Dallas Cowboys coach behind his current coach’s back.
The Panthers have claimed offensive lineman Chris Reed off waivers from the Dolphins.
The Panthers offensive line has been a mess all season thanks to injuries and a few personnel decisions that didn’t work out. Today, the team tried to churn the bottom of the roster for more interior depth.
The Panthers have claimed offensive lineman Chris Reed off waivers from the Dolphins, per the team website.
Reed (6-foot-4, 320 pounds) played college ball at Minnesota State. He got his start in the NFL in Jacksonville, playing 25 games for the Jaguars from 2016-2018. Reed started eight games in that time. This season, Reed played five games in Miami.
Ron Rivera clearly made a lasting impression on his players. From top to bottom, the Carolina Panthers have all been talking about how Rivera impacted them as human beings the last few days. Watch quarterback Kyle Allen talk about Rivera’s belief in him at Thursday’s press conference.
Interim head coach Perry Fewell told reporters yesterday that Allen is going to continue starting at QB.
For the year, Allen is 5-5. He’s completing 61.5% of his passes and has totaled 2,457 yards. Allen has thrown 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Guice was impressive to the naked eye last week, but his advanced stats paint an even prettier picture.
In his third game back from injury, Derrius Guice passed the eye-test in Sunday’s victory over the Carolina Panthers, running for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 10 carries.
Those stats are highly impressive, but they get even better when you throw in some advanced numbers that have been released, helping to paint the picture of exactly what Guice was able to accomplish on Sunday.
Spent the least average time behind the line of scrimmage of all NFL running backs, at just 2.51 seconds.
Saw a stacked box on 60 percent of his carries, second-most in the NFL.
Was the most north/south runner at 1.81 yards ran/rush yard gained.
All of those combined helped the second-year running back put together the best game of his career by far, and it helped the Redskins notch their second-consecutive victory.
If it wasn’t clear before, it should be clearer now — Guice has the potential to be an All-Pro runner not far down the line.
Here are four NFL teams that could use a new coach, ranked on how far they could go with Rivera calling the shots.
Ron Rivera leaves the Panthers as the most successful coach in franchise history. In his farewell press conference on Wednesday, Rivera told the media that he plans to continue coaching. Rivera will likely get plenty of interest for potential head coaching jobs in 2020.
Here are four NFL teams that can use a new coach, ranked on how far they could go with Rivera calling the shots.
4. New York Giants
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Pat Shurmur should be on the hot seat as much as any coach at the conclusion of this season. He’s supposed to be an offensive-minded coach, but the 2-10 Giants are only averaging 316.7 yards (ranked No. 25) and 19.2 points per game (also No. 25 in the league). Their defense is just as bad. New York ranks No. 27 in defensive DVOA. The fit makes sense as Rivera has connections with general manager Dave Gettleman and offensive coordinator Mike Shula. However, there’s not a whole lot of talent to work with, here. Rivera can probably do better.
Previewing Sunday’s Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons sports betting odds and lines, with NFL Week 14 betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Atlanta Falcons (3-9) host the Carolina Panthers (5-7) Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a rematch of the Week 11 meeting which the Falcons won 29-3 as visitors. The Week 14 tilt kicks off at 1 p.m. ET. We analyze the Panthers-Falcons odds and sports betting lines, while providing NFL betting tips and picks for this matchup.
Panthers at Falcons: Week 14 preview, betting trends and notes
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The Falcons took a 26-18 loss at home against the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving.
The Panthers have lost four in a row, with only one of those games played within eight points. They fired head coach Ron Rivera earlier this week and replaced him with Perry Fewell.
The Falcons are 1-19 when scoring fewer than 22 points since the start of the 2016 season. They’re averaging 21.7 points per game this year while the Panthers give up 26.7 PPG.
Atlanta allows a league-high 408.5 yards from scrimmage per game when at home.
The Panthers are 14-0 when not committing any turnovers since the start of 2016. They have a minus-2 turnover differential this year (22 giveaways) while the Falcons are minus-11 (21 giveaways).
Panthers at Falcons: Key injuries
Panthers TE Greg Olsen (concussion) remains in the concussion protocol.
Falcons WRs Julio Jones (shoulder) and Calvin Ridley (toe) were limited in practice Wednesday. TE Austin Hooper (knee) was also limited.
Panthers at Falcons: Odds, betting lines and prediction
The FALCONS (-162) are the play at home after their Week 11 domination of the Panthers and QB Kyle Allen. Jones should return after sitting out Thanksgiving and the return of Hooper would be an added boost.
The Falcons have won four straight and seven of the last eight head-to-head meetings.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Falcons to win outright returns a profit of $6.17.
After winning by 26 in the season’s first meeting, the FALCONS are laying a conservative -2.5 points with -129 odds. Each of their last seven head-to-head victories was decided by more than a field goal.
Atlanta is 4-8 against the spread while Carolina is 6-6, but the Falcons fall an average of just 2.4 points shy of the cover. The Panthers fall an average of 3.3 points short.
Take the OVER 48.5 (+105). The Panthers are 8-4 against the projections and top the number by an average of 4.4 PPG. The Falcons are 4-8 and fall 1.3 points shy of the line on average, but the probable returns of Jones and Hooper will propel this over the number.
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Olsen was one of four players who sat out the first day of practice for this week.
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen is still in the concussion protocol following the head shot he took in Sunday’s loss to Washington. Olsen was one of four players who sat out the first day of practice for this week.
Here’s your first look at the team’s Week 14 injury report.
Player
Injury
Wed
Thu
Fri
Status
TE Greg Olsen
Concussion
DNP
OT Greg Little
Ankle
DNP
DT Gerald McCoy
Knee
DNP
S Eric Reid
Ankle
DNP
OT Taylor Moton
Knee
Limited
LB Shaq Thompson
Ankle
Limited
If Olsen can’t play against the Falcons, expect second-year tight end Ian Thomas to get a much larger role on offense. To date, he’s only played 101 offensive snaps – 11.9% of the team’s total.
Expect McCoy and Reid to resume practicing later in the week. Little is a question mark, though. In any case, sixth-round pick Dennis Daley remains the Panthers’ best option to play left tackle right now.
Week 14 may prove to be the defining moment for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers. Will the game be broadcast in your area?
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Week 14 may prove to be the defining moment for both the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers. The Saints are in position to put a stranglehold on the number one NFC playoff seed with a win. Meanwhile, the 49ers could reclaim that top seed as well as the NFC West divisional lead with a win over New Orleans.
San Francisco is making to the trip to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday after losing to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13. The 49ers have heralded by many pundits and analysts as the best team in the NFL, even with their two losses to the Seahawks and Ravens.
New Orleans is still trying to prove it belongs in that Super Bowl conversation, even though the Saints already had a playoff spot locked up by Thanksgiving. Questions about offensive efficiency, the depth of the receiving corps, and frustrating penalty issues surround the team. A win on Sunday would go a long way in assuaging those concerns.
In any case, the broadcast map from 506 Sports highlights the coverage for each of the games during the early slate. The Saints-49ers kickoff will be nationally televised at 12:00 p.m. CT, with the FOX crew led by Kevin Burkhardt and Charles Davis on the call for this week’s game.
The areas in red on the map (running from coast to coast within the United States) will have access to the Saints game. Areas in green will broadcast the Washington Redskins at the Green Bay Packers, while areas in yellow will receive the Detroit Lions at the Minnesota Vikings. Markets in orange will be shown the Carolina Panthers’ visit with the Atlanta Falcons, without longtime head coach Ron Rivera. Finally, the areas in blue are getting the late game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
