Falcons look to get well against NFC South rival Panthers

CAROLINA (2-2) at ATLANTA (0-4)

Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox

OPENING LINE – Falcons by 3

RECORD VS. SPREAD – Panthers 2-2; Falcons 1-3

SERIES RECORD – Falcons lead 32-18

LAST MEETING – Falcons won 40-20 at Atlanta on Dec. 8, 2019

LAST WEEK – Panthers beat Cardinals 31-21 at home; Falcons lost 30-16 at Green Bay.

AP PRO32 RANKING – Panthers No. 18, Falcons No. 29

PANTHERS OFFENSE – OVERALL (12), RUSH (15), PASS (8)

PANTHERS DEFENSE – OVERALL (10t), RUSH (21), PASS (7)

FALCONS OFFENSE – OVERALL (8t), RUSH (23t), PASS (5)

FALCONS DEFENSE – OVERALL (31), RUSH (10t), PASS (31)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: The Falcons have won five straight and eight of the last nine in the series. … Carolina had four scoring drives of 75 yards or more last week against the Cardinals. … Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater has 1,300 yards passing with six touchdowns and two interceptions in his past five road starts. Bridgewater has completed 73% of his passes, third best in the NFL. … Mike Davis should see the bulk of work at running back with Christian McCaffrey and Reggie Bonnafon out with high ankle sprains. Bonnafon has joined McCaffrey on injured reserve. … Davis has prospered in his fill-in starting role. He has 202 yards from scrimmage and two TDs in his last two starts. … Robby Anderson’s 377 yards receiving rank sixth in the NFL. … Panthers tight ends Ian Thomas and Chris Manhertz have combined for only eight catches, 59 yards and no touchdowns. … Panthers are converting 48.9% of their third-down opportunities. … Carolina has allowed 37 points in its last two games, both wins, after surrendering 67 in the first two. … DT Derrick Brown leads rookies with five tackles for a loss. S Jeremy Chinn leads all rookies with 34 tackles. … The Falcons are 0-4 for the first time since 1999. Atlanta and the Giants are the only winless teams in the NFC. … Atlanta’s last 0-5 start was 1997 under first-year coach Dan Reeves. … The Falcons are hoping to continue recent success in their division. They have four straight seasons with winning records in the NFC South, including 4-2 marks each of last three years. … The Falcons are losing despite their plus-2 turnover differential. … After having at least 100 yards receiving in each of Atlanta’s first three games, WR Calvin Ridley did not have a catch in Monday night’s loss at Green Bay. … WR Russell Gage has 10 third-down catches, including eight for first-down yardage. … The Falcons rank 31st in yards and points allowed. … DE Charles Harris has sacks in back-to-back games. … QB Matt Ryan has averaged 275.8 yards passing in 24 games against the Panthers. … RB Todd Gurley ran for two touchdowns last week. Gurley has 20 games with at least two TDs since 2015, the most in the league. … Fantasy tip: Anderson leads the Panthers with 28 catches for 377 yards and could be in great position to add to his modest total of one TD catch. Atlanta’s secondary has been depleted by injuries and the Falcons lead the NFL with 13 TD passes allowed. Anderson has four TD catches in his last five NFC South games.

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