Falcons in First Place! Panthers at Atlanta Week 8: How to Watch, Injury Report, Betting Lines, Tickets
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With last Sunday's loss behind them, the Atlanta Falcons now host NFC South rival the Carolina Panthers (2-5) with sole possession of the divisional lead at stake.
After falling to the Cincinnati Bengals in demoralizing fashion, including a 21-0 deficit just 16 minutes into the game, the Falcons will need to hit the ground running to avoid a similar outcome.
"I didn't think our focus was great early on," head coach Arthur Smith said. "You can ask anybody in that locker room - this isn't me just saying this on Monday just because we lost."
"I think for the most part, (the focus has) been pretty good, but obviously wasn't good enough last week."
Atlanta will need to limit the Panthers run game this Sunday, with D'Onta Freeman steamrolling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.
Racking up over 170 yards on the ground, it will be a different look than recent divisional match-ups, with Carolina trading away longtime running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers last week.
"These guys play extremely hard, and they're trying to establish a little bit of a different identity," Smith said.
Quarterback PJ Walker will continue to stay under center for the Panthers, who has started the previous two games with injuries to Baker Mayfield and Matt Corral.
The 27-year-old signal-caller completed 72.7 percent of his passes and threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns in Carolina's win on Sunday.
Atlanta's secondary will look to limit Walker, despite being down multiple key cornerbacks.
GAME TIME: Sunday, October 30th, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
TELEVISION: FOX | FuboTV (try it free)
ODDS: The Falcons are -4 point favorites against the Panthers.
MONEYLINE: Panthers (+176); Falcons (-210)
TICKETS VIA SI TICKETS
Over/under: 41.5
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