Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers Thursday Night Football Betting Preview

On Thursday Night Football this week, the NFC South will take center stage, as the Carolina Panthers are ready to host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10 action. The Falcons were briefly at the top of the NFC South standings but relinquished their lead last week in Week 9.

Meanwhile, the Panthers are in the middle of quarterback limbo and are struggling to get things going so far this season, which they will look to change here.

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Atlanta Falcons

Last week, the Atlanta Falcons lost a close game to the Los Angeles Chargers, with their pass defense letting them down late. Atlanta is allowing 300 yards per game to opposing passers, the worst number in the NFL right now. The question for the Falcons is whether they can stop the run against the Panthers, though.

Carolina is not a team that is much of a threat throwing the football right now, as they have elected to stay with P.J. Walker as their starting quarterback.

Instead, they are going to try to move the ball on the ground early and often, with D’Onta Foreman leading the way in that department for the Panthers. Because of that, the defensive priority for the Falcons will be stopping the run, instead of fixing their woeful pass defense.

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers had a disastrous Week 9, losing on the road to the Cincinnati Bengals. That game was never close, as the Panthers allowed five touchdowns to Joe Mixon, and 35 points by halftime. Here, the defense of the Panthers is going to have to be much better, specifically against the running game of the Falcons.

Atlanta has averaged 162.9 rushing yards per game, the fourth-best average in the NFL. They also have Cordarrelle Patterson back for this game, who has returned from injured reserve and will be a threat to the defense of the Panthers.

If Carolina cannot stop the run, it is going to be a long night for a Falcons team that is looking to get back to the .500 mark here to help their case in the division race.

Keys To The Game

For the Atlanta Falcons, the number one key to this game is going to be achieving some variety on the offensive side of the ball.

The Falcons are a team that typically likes to run the ball, but the running game is so much harder to get going when you cannot make the opposing defense respect the threat of the pass. Marcus Mariota is great with his legs but needs to execute some throws to keep the Panthers off-balance.

On the Carolina side, the number one key to this game is going to be their quarterback play, as P.J. Walker will get the start here. Walker was pulled against the Bengals to get Baker Mayfield some snaps during garbage time.

That suggests that Walker’s starting job is far from safe, and he will need to play well both to help his team and help his cause to remain the number one guy under center in Carolina.

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