NFL Twitter wanted a refund watching the Falcons and Panthers stink it up on TNF, especially after Atlanta defenders tackled each other on a Carolina TD.
The slate of Thursday Night Football games all season has felt like games handpicked to be uniquely terrible. So it wasn’t really a surprise this Thursday with the Falcons and Panthers going head-to-head that more bad football would be on display.
Still, there’s a difference between being ready to witness awful and actually seeing it play out. NFL Twitter knew what was coming. It didn’t make the first half between Atlanta and Carolina any more palatable.
The Panthers took a 13-3 lead on the Falcons at halftime despite not playing particularly well themselves. That’s because Atlanta was astoundingly bad. No moment represented that more thoroughly than Laviska Shenault scoring a touchdown because two Falcons defenders tackled eachother.
NFL Twitter can’t believe how bad the Falcons were on TNF
When the Falcons are tackling each other, this ceases to be fair. https://t.co/3oR2dLLGK6
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) November 11, 2022
Great block here on the Panthers TD by the *checks notes* ... Falcons? pic.twitter.com/LpE8e0lMJk
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 11, 2022
Two Falcons players literally tackled each other. It's been a real collaborative effort to be bad in all three phases of the game tonight
— Jarvis Davis (@JarvisD90) November 11, 2022
The game as a whole was continually roasted on Twitter beyond that one moment.
Imagine paying a billion a year for panthers falcons. That’s like paying 10 grand for a hot dog
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) November 11, 2022
people complaining about falcons-panthers have to understand that neither fanbase wants to watch this shit either
— Joe Ali (@JoeAli) November 11, 2022
Falcons using Drake London and Kyle Pitts as distractions to get Damiere Byrd and Khadarel Hodge involved is just great stuff
— Big Game Bengal (@BengalYouTube) November 11, 2022
Summary of Falcons Panthers after 1Q
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) November 11, 2022
pic.twitter.com/kdjsR89tli
The Falcons and Panthers DBs when a pass hits them in the hands pic.twitter.com/VQvAALOzyV
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) November 11, 2022
Falcons-Panthers so far pic.twitter.com/5r4yrPBARd
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) November 11, 2022
Sure Elon torching $44 billion on Twitter seems insane but remember Amazon paid almost $87 million for this Falcons-Panthers game.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) November 11, 2022
people tweeting "I'm staying to watch the whole thing collapse" and it's impossible to tell if they mean Twitter or the Atlanta Falcons
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) November 11, 2022
Panthers quarterback PJ Walker wasn’t exactly lighting things up in the first half. He was 5-of-7 for 38 yards. However, he far outplayed Marcus Mariota simply by not making killer mistakes. The Falcons quarterback threw a bad interception while completing 8-of-14 passes.
Eddy Pineiro made a 46-yard field goal in the first quarter despite the ball hitting off the upright. Shenault’s 41-yard touchdown on a backward swing pass made it 10-0 in favor of the home team. Pineiro was good again from 49 yards to give Carolina a 13-0 lead.
As time expired in the half, Younghoe Koo cut into the deficit for the Falcons with a 33-yard kick.
Conditions weren’t favorable for either offense with the rain coming down. Who are we kidding though, this one would have been ugly in the sunshine too.