The Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers, 48-33 in Week 4 in Atlanta. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this NFC South rivalry game.
The Atlanta Falcons move to 3-1 on the season after handling the rival Carolina Panthers, 41-26 in Week 4 at the Georgia Dome. Atlanta might have the best offense in the NFL. Carolina is clearly not the same team that went to Super Bowl 50 the year before, and key losses on defense, like Josh Norman, are having an impact.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones each had monster days for the Atlanta offense. Carolina didn’t score an offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter and Panthers star quarterback Cam Newton struggled mightily to throw accurate balls. He left the game in the fourth quarter to be treated for a possible concussion.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Falcons’ victory over the Panthers in Week 4:
1. Atlanta is the team to beat in the NFC South.
With this big win over the Panthers, the Falcons are now the team to beat in the NFC South. Yes, Atlanta has a Week 1 loss at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Atlanta moves to a comfortable 3-1 on the year.
Tampa Bay is still an interesting team to keep an eye on, but both Carolina and the New Orleans Saints have been awful in the first quarter of the 2016 NFL season. The Falcons’ schedule is brutal with road games against the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos in the next two weeks.
However, Atlanta can afford a loss on the road at either place, thanks to a 3-1 start to their season. Only Tampa Bay can start the year out 2-2. It’s early, but the Falcons are now in the driver’s seat of the NFC South.
2. Carolina needs a slogan. They can’t pound.
Carolina has a lot of issues in the early part of the season, but one sticks out more than the rest: the Panthers can’t run the football. This is a massive problem because not only does it open up the pass for quarterback Cam Newton, but it is also the Panthers’ slogan: Keep Pounding.
Can Carolina figure out how to pound the rock in the coming weeks? Sure, but the Panthers absolutely need their starting running back Jonathan Stewart in the fold. He’s been out the last two weeks and the Panthers’ running game has been abysmal without him.
Stewart’s absence has put more on Newton’s plate than he can handle offensively. His passing mechanics are sloppy and he’s taking a beating behind a so-so offensive line. Carolina cannot sustain its place as an NFC elite team if the Panther continue to struggle running the football.
3. These two teams live and die on momentum.
Atlanta and Carolina have an interesting rivalry in the NFC South. They are only a few hours drive apart via I-85. Carolina views Atlanta as its biggest rival, while Atlanta has the Panthers as their second biggest behind New Orleans.
What makes this rivalry and these teams so interesting is that they live and die off momentum. Both teams are more than capable of putting together lengthy winning streaks. Atlanta started the year off 5-0 in 2015. Carolina went 13-0 before falling to the Falcons last season.
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On the other side of the coin, Atlanta and Carolina can both lose games in bunches. Atlanta went 3-8 in its final 11 games in 2015. Carolina has started the year out 1-3 and struggled to make the NFC Playoffs in 2014 at 7-8-1. Momentum is a funny thing and it seems to have a stranglehold on these two NFC South rivals. Atlanta is loving it and Carolina can’t catch a break.