The Panthers head to Atlanta to finish up their regular season with a contest that has the potential to land Carolina anywhere from second in the NFC with a first-round bye to fifth and traveling across the country the first weekend in January; the Panthers will almost certainly be watching the scoreboard, but truly, the only game that matters besides the one played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be the Saints heading to Tampa to take on a frisky Bucs team that took Carolina to the wire last week. If the Saints are ahead 28-0 in the third quarter, expect Cam Newton and some of the other key components of the offense to come out of the game to avoid injury no matter how insistent Ron Rivera is that he will play his starters for sixty minutes.
Even if they can’t advance up the NFC ranks without help from the Saints, the Panthers want to win their finale not only to continue their winning ways and hold momentum, but Panthers fans would be very happy to see the Falcons out of the playoffs entirely; a loss for the Falcons coupled with a Seahawks win has Matt Ryan sitting on his couch instead of an entrant in the tournament to win the Super Bowl, so you know the Panthers will be getting everything the Falcons have in their playbook so that they can head to their New Year’s Eve parties with a victory. Before we get to the analysis, let’s take a look at how the teams stack up statistically:
| Panthers | Statistic | Falcons |
|---|---|---|
| 32.8 | Yards/Game | 364.4 |
| 5.1 | Yards/Play | 5.99 |
| 134.3 | Rushing Yards/Game | 119.1 |
| 4.32 | Rushing Yards/Play | 4.42 |
| 194.4 | Passing Yards/Game | 245.3 |
| 6.24 | Passing Yards/Play | 7.59 |
| 2.78% | Interception Rate | 2.47% |
| 7.07% | Sacks/Pass Attempt | 4.74% |
| 20.3 | First Downs/Game | 20.7 |
| 8 | Punt Return Average | 8 |
| 22.5 | Kickoff Return Average | 22.3 |
| 96.55% | Field Goal Percentage | 85.29% |
| 42.51% | Third Down Percentage | 45.30% |
| 40 | Fourth Down Percentage | 30.77% |
| 54.00% | Red Zone Percentage | 53.06% |
| 72.00% | Goal To Go Percentage | 77.78% |
| 32:45 | Average Time Of Possession | 29:31 |
| 23.5 | Points/Game | 22.1 |
And the defense:
| Panthers | Statistic | Falcons |
|---|---|---|
| 313.5 | Yards/Game | 323.1 |
| 5.34 | Yards/Play | 5.19 |
| 89.9 | Rushing Yards/Game | 105.2 |
| 4.13 | Rushing Yards/Play | 4.17 |
| 223.6 | Passing Yards/Game | 217.9 |
| 6.64 | Passing Yards/Play | 6.3 |
| 1.98% | Interception Rate | 0.96% |
| 9.70% | Sacks/Pass Attempt | 7.13% |
| 17.5 | First Downs/Game | 20.5 |
| 6.1 | Punt Return Average | 8.2 |
| 21.2 | Kickoff Return Average | 26.4 |
| 37.89% | Third Down Percentage | 38.67% |
| 35.00% | Fourth Down Percentage | 66.67% |
| 51.28% | Red Zone Percentage | 45.65% |
| 57.89% | Goal To Go Percentage | 60.00% |
| 20.3 | Points/Game | 20.3 |
Some Fun Facts:
- If Atlanta makes the playoffs, the NFC South will have three representatives in the playoffs for the first time in it’s history.
- The Panthers rank second in the NFL in wins (23) in the month of December since Ron Rivera became the coach in 2011, trailing New England by just one win.
- If Graham Gano misses one field goal or less against Atlanta, he will set the franchise record for field goal percentage.
- If the Panthers are penalized less than twice, they will break the franchise record for fewest penalties in a season. They are the least penalized team in the league.
- They will almost certainly break the franchise record for time of possession. Once they have possessed the ball for more than 21 minutes, they’ll break 2013’s record of 31:54 per game.
- Since 2011 when Ron Rivera and Cam Newton arrived, thePanthers are 64-46-1 (18 games over .500) with four playoff appearances. In the 16 seasons prior, Carolina was 119-137 (18 games under .500) with four playoff appearances.
- Carolina is one of only two teams this season with both a kickoff and a punt return touchdown. Damiere Byrd’s 103-yard return last week was the longest in franchise history.
- Wes Horton has five forced fumbles since Week 15 of the 2016 season.
- Quarterback Cam Newton has 27 total touchdowns (21 passing, six rushing) in 2017, pushing his career total to 211. The 211 touchdowns are the third-most total touchdowns in NFL history through a quarterback’s first seven seasons.
- Carolina has won the coin toss in 10 games this season, deferring to the second half each time and posting a record of 9-1 when receiving the second-half kickoff. The Panthers lead the NFL in points (38) off drives that start the third quarter.
- The Panthers are: 10-0 when leading at halftime; 10-0 when leading after the third quarter; 10-2 when winning time of possession battle; 10-0 when outrushing opponents; 10-1 in games decided by seven points or less; 9-1 when winning or even on turnovers; 8-1 when scoring first.
