The Carolina Panthers must close out the season healthy rather than defeating the Atlanta Falcons.
Even though the Carolina Panthers have locked up a playoff spot heading into the final game of the 2017 season, a win over the Atlanta Falcons is an important step toward a better position in the post season. Even though their fate in the NFC South is not completely in their hands, the Panthers are coming into this game with all intentions to win, rather than play for the post season. With that in mind, there are key areas in which the team needs to improve upon in comparison to the November 5 matchup between these two organizations.
The biggest storyline about this game is that the Atlanta Falcons need this win more than the Panthers. At 9-6 the Falcons need this win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. If they pull out the victory, the Falcons will clinch the final NFC wild card slot. With that in mind, expect Matt Ryan, Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones and the crew to come out with all cylinders firing. Carolina Panthers Coach, Ron Rivera has stated that Panthers starters will play, but he has not stated if they will play the entire game.
“What I want to do is win the football game,” Rivera said as reported by STATs LLC. “I want to keep as much momentum going forward as possible.”
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Looking back to the November 5 game, it was the Panthers rushing attack that pushed them to the win. Carolina ended that game with 205 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Even though none of the players had more than 100 yards alone, six different players contributed to the rushing total. They controlled much of the clock which kept the Falcons’ powerful offense off of the field. This group performance outset the fact that Cam Newton didn’t play very well under center. He completed 13 of 24 passes for 137 yards, but zero touchdowns and interceptions to tie his least productive outing of the season. As always, his contributions are measured beyond just the passer stats, but it’s still clear that this wasn’t the best showing of his abilities as a franchise quarterback.
Defensively, the Panthers held the Falcons run game in check. They held the Falcons rushers to only 53 yards on 18 attempts. Both teams struggled to complete third-down conversions but the Panthers found more opportunities to move the ball down the field. The Falcons pushed for a late comeback, cutting the lead down to three in the fourth quarter, but the defense held things together at the very end.
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This Sunday the Panthers will need better production from the offensive side of the ball to keep control of the clock. The Falcons have shown that they can put up points and do so quickly, which is exactly why the Panthers do not want to get into a shootout. On one side, playing from behind limits the need to keep starters on the field in dangerous plays, but it hinders their ability to play the best game. It will be interesting to see which objective takes the lead as time clicks off the clock.
The main goal for the Panthers should be to come out of the game healthy. Nothing would be more damaging than suffering an injury to a key player a few days before the postseason begins. While winning this game keeps momentum going as Coach Rivera wants, health should be the first objective to keeping this team together before a late season run.