Carolina Panthers (0-1) @ Atlanta Falcons (0-1)
Sunday, September 20, 1:00 PM ET
The entire NFC South lost in Week 1, so this matchup at least ensures that someone will get in the win column for Week 2.
Let's start off by talking about the Carolina Panthers, who gave up 59 points and nearly 300 rushing yards against the Chicago Bears. To say it's going to look a lot different in Week 2 against the Falcons would be a hilarious understatement.
Bryce Young also shredded the Bears' defense to the tune of 361 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, and another rushing touchdown. He wasn't perfect, of course, but when you score 30-plus points in a game, you're going to win more games than not. The Carolina defense needs a bounce-back week in the worst way, but that offense has shown big-time potential.
Thankfully for Carolina's defense, we have no idea who is going to be playing quarterback for the Falcons this week. Could we get the debut of Tua Tagovailoa? Are we going to see Cooper Rush again? Is Michael Penix Jr. going to be ready to go?
The Falcons hung pretty tough with the Steelers in Week 1, but it was a sloppy performance by both teams. If the Carolina offense is executing the way we saw from them against the Bears, the Falcons probably don't stand a chance in this one, regardless of who the quarterback is.
Still, that Panthers team has proven to be streaky in the past, so going on the road against a division rival, they're just 1.5-point favorites. I'm banking on that Carolina offense staying hot in Week 2 and the Falcons continuing to struggle.
Prediction: Panthers win 23-16
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