NFL Betting Odds: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers

Added on Dec 11, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

The Atlanta Falcons are tied for the best record in the NFL at 10-2, while the Carolina Panthers have sole possession of the worst record in the league at 1-11. That’s the matchup at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Sunday which has at least a modicum of significance due to the fact that the teams are NFC South ‘rivals’.

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
December 12, 2010 10:00 AM Pacific

This is the type of game and price range that we’d like to be able to make a case of the home underdog. The Falcons have won 6 straight and are off a couple of hard fought games against Tampa Bay and Green Bay. They’ve got another road game against a bad team on deck, playing at Seattle and won’t face a serious opponent until the weekend after Christmas when they play the New Orleans Saints.

But how can you make a case for Carolina here? Even if the Falcons aren’t quite as focused or intense as they were against better opponents there’s such a qualitative difference in the talent of these teams that it really doesn’t matter. The Panthers are dead last in total defense and scoring defense, putting up a woeful 12.8 PPG. The #29 team in the league–Arizona–outscores them by an average of nearly 4 PPG. Their defense hasn’t been awful but since they get no help from their offense they have a tendency to get worn out. The equation here is pretty simple–the only way the Panthers can win is to keep Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and the Falcons’ offense off the field. Unfortunately, we just don’t see how a Panthers’ team that has scored more than 18 points in a game only *twice* this season holds up their end of the bargain. So we get a balanced and efficient Falcons offense against an increasingly tired Panthers defense. Not a perfect situation for the Falcons but a brutal tactical matchup for Carolina.

Bet Atlanta Falcons -7′ over Carolina Panthers