Falcons-Panthers Capsule
ATLANTA (6-6) at CAROLINA (12-0)
Sunday 1 p.m. ET, Fox
OPENING LINE - Panthers by 8
RECORD VS. SPREAD - Falcons 4-8, Panthers 9-3
SERIES RECORD - Falcons lead 24-16
LAST MEETING - Panthers beat Falcons 34-3, Dec. 28, 2014
LAST WEEK - Falcons lost to Buccaneers 23-19; Panthers beat Saints 41-38
AP PRO32 RANKING - Falcons No. 20 (tie), Panthers No. 1
FALCONS OFFENSE - OVERALL (5), RUSH (16), PASS (6)
FALCONS DEFENSE - OVERALL (16), RUSH (12), PASS (11t)
PANTHERS OFFENSE - OVERALL (14), RUSH (3), PASS (27)
PANTHERS DEFENSE - OVERALL (3), RUSH (2), PASS (7)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Falcons RB Devonta Freeman has 390 yards from scrimmage and two TDs in past three division games. Freeman leads NFC with 11 TDs. ... WR Julio Jones will be matched against Panthers CB Josh Norman. Jones leads NFL with 102 receptions. ... No Falcons defensive player has more than two sacks. ... Rookie DT Grady Jarrett had first career sack last week. ... Falcons have lost four of last five to Panthers. .... Panthers can clinch first-round bye with win. ... QB Cam Newton has 147 combined touchdowns in 74 starts. Has 30 games with a TD rushing and passing... Panthers have won 16 straight regular season games, including nine straight at home. At 12-0 this season, they have scored at least 27 points in 10 straight games and have not scored fewer than 20 points this season. ... Panthers averaging 12.8 yards per catch, fourth most in NFL. ... RB Jonathan Stewart is third in league in rushing with 914 yards. ... WR Ted Ginn Jr. has career-best six TD receptions. ... Greg Olsen is second among NFL tight ends in receptions (62) and yards receiving (917). Olsen is averaging 79.6 yards receiving per game over past six games with three TD catches. ... Panthers have scored TDs 65.3 percent of time in opponent's red zone, fifth best in NFL. Fantasy Tip: WR Roddy White has either 100 yards receiving or TD against Carolina in six straight games.
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Online:
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL
