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TV Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 13, 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
Line: Carolina (-8.5)
Another week, another Carolina Panthers win. While the team will certainly take any sort of win, this one was a struggle throughout. The Panthers found themselves down 14-0 in the first quarter, thanks in part to two of their three first-half turnovers. In addition, the defense played their worst game of the season, but none of it mattered as the Panthers mounted a furious comeback in the second half led by Cam Newton, who finished the game with 331 yards passing and five touchdowns while adding 49 yards on the ground.
Week 14 features another divisional matchup for the Panthers in the form of the 6-6 Atlanta Falcons. After starting the season with five straight wins, the Falcons have lost six of their last seven, including five in a row. Surprisingly, the issues have been on the offensive side of the ball which is a change from recent years when the defense was terrible. The Falcons are averaging only 16.7 points per game over this poor seven-game stretch.
When an offense is struggling, the last thing they want to see is an elite defense, but that’s what Matt Ryan and the Falcons will face on Sunday. The Panthers lead the NFL in interceptions with 19 and takeaways with 29, which is a bad sign for Ryan, who has already thrown 13 interceptions and fumbled eight times this season.
On the other side of the ball, there’s no quarterback in the league playing as well as Newton. Over his last six games, the Panthers quarterback has thrown 16 touchdowns with only three interceptions and has added three more touchdowns on the ground. For the season, Newton has accounted for a whopping 32 total touchdowns, which is good for second in the NFL behind only Tom Brady‘s 34.
What makes Newton’s season even more impressive is the cast of characters he’s succeeding with. After losing his No. 1 wide receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, during the preseason, Newton has been throwing to receivers like Ted Ginn Jr., Jerricho Cotchery, Devin Funchess, Philly Brown and Brenton Bersin all season long. While he does have Greg Olsen, who’s the best tight end in the league outside of Rob Gronkowski, how many other quarterbacks could put together this kind of season with that cast of misfits?
Possibly the biggest matchup to watch in this game will be the battle between the best wide receiver in the NFL going up against the best cornerback as Julio Jones will be shadowed by Josh Norman. Norman did a tremendous job on Jones in both matchups last season as the Falcons’ best playmaker only had 10 catches for 117 yards in both meetings combined. If Norman shuts down Jones again on Sunday, this game shouldn’t even be close.
With the way these two teams are playing, this game is an utter mismatch. While the Falcons’ defense has certainly improved this season, I’m not sure they’ve improved enough to slow down the Panthers’ offense. At the same time, Ryan is playing some of the worst football of his career heading into a matchup with a tremendous Panthers defense. While the line seems a bit high, I predict the Panthers will cover.
Prediction: Carolina 34, Atlanta 21
Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
