Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers Pick - Odds and ATS Predictions

The Carolina Panthers (6-8) and Atlanta Falcons (5-9) will lock horns at Bank of America Stadium in the Queen City for a renewal of an NFC South rivalry on Sunday, December 23rd, 2018. The game will be televised on FOX with a kick-off time of 1:00 PM ET. The Falcons have won five of the last six meetings between the two franchises.

Moreover, Atlanta has gone 4-1 ATS in the last five contests between both teams. Most recently, Atlanta defeated Carolina on September 16th by a score of 31-24 when they hosted the Panthers. The result generated a cover for the Falcons who closed as a 5.5-point favorite.

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers Overview

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons saw a five-game losing streak come to an end when they defeated the Arizona Cardinals 40-14 in the ATL, last Sunday. The Falcons also produced a cover as a 10-point favorite which also ended a five-game drought of the Dirty Birds producing a cover.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers come into this contest off a 12-9 loss on Monday Night Football against the division's top team and a present power in the conference, the New Orleans Saints. Though the Panthers lost yet another contest, they managed to foster a cover as a six-point underdog when they hosted their NFC South foes. The huge storyline surrounding the Panthers camp is the news that their franchise player and star quarterback Cam Newton is out for the rest of the season nursing a shoulder injury.

Reasons to Avoid Carolina

Everything that could go wrong for Carolina has happened. After starting off 6-2, the Panthers have since departed on a six-game losing streak which put their playoff hopes in severe peril. The fact that they will not have Cam Newton available for this contest is an even bigger blow that ultimately could result in the Panthers shutting it down and calling it a day. This makes the Panthers a dangerous play here against their divisional rivals.

Reasons to Back Atlanta

While there isn’t much to play for on Atlanta’s end either they have the better team on the field at the moment for this affair. The Dirty Birds also have a favorable match-up here as their fifth-ranked passing attack averaging 288.6 yards through the air per game is up against a Carolina defense that sits 21st in the league against the pass giving up 250.3 yards per game. With the likelihood of Carolina not being able to rebuttal Falcons Quarterback Matt Ryan due to the injury to Newton, Atlanta could be in a position to win big here.