ATLANTA, GA. (BLACK & BLUE KICKOFF LIVE) — The final week of the NFL regular season is here and once again the Panthers are not playing for a playoff spot. On the other hand, its opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, can win the NFC South with a win on Sunday and a Buccaneers loss to the Saints.
If the Falcons clinch the division, it’ll be the first time since 2016. Meanwhile, the Panthers haven’t won the division since its Super Bowl run in 2015.
But it’s no more Cam Newton and Matt Ryan, and it’s not even Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins who were the starters the last time these two teams met; this time it’s Bryce Young and rookie Michael Penix Jr.
The rookie has impressed in his first two starts since taking over for the veteran Cousins in Week 16. The Falcons beat the Giants but then lost to the Commanders in overtime. In those two games, Penix has 425 passing yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The most important stat, however, is that he’s kept the Falcons in the playoff race.
For Young and the Panthers, they will look to build off of a (somewhat) promising second half of the season in the first year of the Dan Morgan/Dave Canales regime. There are no moral victories in the NFL and four (or five) wins is nothing to celebrate, but the team has improved and has good pieces in place to build on (I.e. Chuba Hubbard, Xavier Legette, Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn).
The last game between Atlanta and Carolina on Oct. 13 was a Falcons win 38-20. In the last four seasons, the two teams have split the season series and the Panthers can make it five with a win in Week 18.
Sunday’s game from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta starts at 1 p.m.
