Thursday Night Football: Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers Betting Picks, Odds, Lines & Predictions
Just a couple of days after another last-second defeat, Atlanta (1-6 SU, 2-5 ATS) will face divisional rivals Carolina (3-4 SU, 4-3 ATS) in this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football. The teams last met just three weeks ago as the Panthers put an end to a five-game Falcons’ matchup winning streak with a 23-16 win.
Thursday Night Football: Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers Line Movement
Carolina enters the game as -2.5 favorites after they opened the week with a -3.5 advantage. Oddsmakers at the best PPH bookies expect a tight game, even though the last eight out of nine matchups between the two ended up being decided by at least a touchdown. As for the total, the early money seems to be going on the UNDER, as the line moved from 51 to 49.
Thoughts On The Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have established themselves as the undisputed choke kings of the NFL, after squandering yet another game in the fourth quarter after Todd Gurley scored an accidental touchdown leaving the Lions with enough time to score and win on the last drive. It was the fourth game this season Falcons have lost after having over 95% win probability in the fourth quarter. It’s frustrating and undoubtedly has an effect on the team, especially since they have only a short week to recover. They have seemed to be on the road to improvement after the win at Minnesota Vikings following Dan Quinn firing, but the Lions loss puts them back at the bottom of the NFC South.
Todd Gurley will certainly be motivated to redeem himself after Sunday’s blunder and that combined with Panthers’ poor rush defense could make him a decent fantasy pick this week. QB Matt Ryann had the worst game of the season against the same opponent in Week 5, and his performance will have a lot of effect on the numbers his WRs will be able to put up, particularly Julio Jones who is still not fully recovered, but has been impressive since his return to the lineup.
Thoughts On The Carolina Panthers
The loss of Christian McCaffrey is starting to catch up with North Carolina. They lost the last two games following a three-game winning streak right after the star running back’s injury. The last two games saw them score a total of only 40 points, with the running particularly an issue. The defense has been mostly decent, though, and managed to keep the Saints to only two field goals in the second half last week.
QB Teddy Bridgewater threw for 313 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions the last time these two met. He has a 3-0 record against the Falcons and could put up respectable fantasy numbers again. The same goes for the WR Robby Anderson who’s been perhaps the most consistent Carolina player this season. RB Mike Davies hasn’t performed very well in the last two games and will try to make the most of one of his last chances to start before McCaffrey returns.
Thursday Night Football: Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers Betting Pick Under 49
The Carolina Panthers have gone UNDER in four of five games since McCaffrey’s injury and, the Atlanta Falcons offense isn’t exactly dominating either. Look for a similar game to the one in Week 5 where only 39 points were scored.
