What the ESPN FPI Says About the Panthers' Chances vs Atlanta
It was not a quiet bye week for the Carolina Panthers as news broke over the weekend that head coach Matt Rhule informed offensive coordinator Joe Brady that he had been relieved of his duties.
If the Panthers wanted to make a change, the bye week was the best time to do it. Although the news didn't come out until Sunday, you would imagine that new offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon had a pretty good idea that this was coming and had begun prepping for what he will do against the Falcons.
After getting out to a 3-0 start, the Panthers have dropped seven of their last nine games. One of those wins came against the very Atlanta Falcons that they will be hosting at Bank of America Stadium this Sunday. In the 19-13 win in Atlanta, Carolina placed an emphasis on running the football by rushing it 47 times for 203 yards. Starting running back Christian McCaffrey (ankle) is out for the season, so how will they replicate that success against the Falcons? Well, McCaffrey didn't play in that matchup either, so they relied on the tandem of Chuba Hubbard and Ameer Abdullah. I would expect that to be the plan in this Sunday's game along with a heavy dose of RPO for Cam Newton
According to the ESPN FPI, the Panthers have a 67.6% chance to win the game while the Falcons have just a 32.2% chance.
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