Player Prop For Falcons Vs. Panthers
Falcons vs. Panthers, 8:15 ET
I had some high hopes for the Panthers this season. I was under the impression that they were going to take a step forward because they had a solid defense and I was expecting a Baker Mayfield revenge tour. I had low expectations for the Falcons. Marcus Mariota has been serviceable and they've done an admirable job of playing both on offense and defense.
The Falcons are just 1-3 on the road this season, but that doesn't mean they can't win this game. They are alternating wins and losses right now, and coming off of a loss to the Chargers in a game they probably could've taken. If you recall their last game against the Panthers, which was the most recent Falcons win, the Falcons took the game in overtime. But, before they took the game, the Panthers caught a Hail Mary pass in the endzone and tied up the game. Then due to a celebration penalty, they missed the extra point. This game means much more to Atlanta than to Carolina. If Atlanta wins they can still remain in the hunt for the division. The Falcons don't have the talent level of the Bengals that just demoralized the Carolina defense, but they can run on the Panthers if they want to.
For Carolina, they are still just figuring things out. Christian McCaffery is gone, Baker Mayfield isn't playing for them, and their defense which was strong last year is not something to be feared any longer. What they do have is a bunch of guys that want to show that they are worthy of roster spots on teams. I already mentioned how they performed against the Falcons in the last game, but it clearly took a miracle for them to even have a chance at winning the game. Losers of four of their past five games, they've only really looked decent in two of those games. Both have come against division opponents. I think we can see them step up once again against the divisional opponent, but not win the game.
Three points is a reasonable spread for the Falcons to cover. This is a short week for both of them, but the Falcons are the better team. I would expect them to turn to the rushing game in order to win after the Bengals drew up the blueprint for that last week. My official play for this game is actually a player prop: Marcus Mariota over 29.5 rushing yards at -115. He had 43 against the Panthers last time, but there was a 30 yard rush in there. I think this is more a matter of the Panthers looking to bring a bit of pressure and forcing Mariota to scramble. I do lean Falcons -3 as well.
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