Atlanta Falcons: 3 Bold predictions for Week 5 vs. Panthers
3. Falcons defense will face more balanced attack
In the past, Carolina has been a run-heavy offense led by the likes of running back Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield. But without McCaffrey, who is still trying to battle back from an early-season injury, the Panthers will present more of a balanced attack on their side of the ball than what we are accustomed to seeing.
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While McCaffrey is away from the team and continues to work back to the field with injury issues, Mike Davis has lead the charge of the ground game in Carolina and Teddy Bridgewater has remained under center as the team’s starting quarterback.
In the last few contests without McCaffrey, for example, the Panthers have displayed a duel-threat offense both in the air and in the running game, led by both Davis and Bridgewater.
In the Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Bridgewater tallied 235 yards through the air while Davis led the run game with 46 yards out of the backfield. A week ago in the win over the Arizona Cardinals, Bridgewater threw for 246 yards and Davis ran for 84 yards to offer Carolina with more of a balanced offensive attack.
In Week 5 in Atlanta, the Falcons will have to plan for Carolina to once again continue the trend of airing out the ball and running it on the ground, which will force Atlanta to stay on its toes defensively throughout the course of the game.