The experts are leaning Carolina in Sunday’s Panthers-Falcons matchup, but this one isn’t landing as a clean consensus pick.
At ESPN, all three panelists - Eric Moody, Pamela Maldonado, and Seth Walder - backed the Panthers. Maldonado sees a tight one, with Carolina winning by three, while Walder expects a much more comfortable 13-point margin.
NFL.com’s group mostly landed the same way, with four of five analysts choosing Carolina. Dan Parr pointed to the Panthers’ ability to move the ball in a 59-37 season-opening loss to the Bears, while noting that the Falcons managed only 13 points.
CBS Sports was the outlier on the Falcons side. Pete Prisco went against the grain and took Atlanta, writing, "The Panthers were mauled on defense last week by the Bears.
This Falcons offense isn't close to that. But I think they will just hand it to Bijan Robinson to keep the Panthers off the field," he wrote.
USA Today also split toward Carolina. Adam Kaufman picked the Panthers and said, "Carolina gained 478 yards and scored 37 points in that debacle. Atlanta, meanwhile, converted just 16.7% of its third downs against Pittsburgh and simply can't be trusted offensively right now unless you're rostering Bijan Robinson in fantasy."
His colleagues Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, Richard Morin, and Nate Davis were also on Carolina. Middlehurst-Schwartz added, "Between last week and 2025's second matchup with Atlanta, Bryce Young could be poised to again ignite some fireworks with big-play aerial strikes," he argued.
The Panthers also got support from Jeremy Cluff of Arizona Republic, Sayre Bedinger of NFL Spin Zone, and Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton. Bleacher Report’s Wes O'Donnell, though, went the other direction and picked the Falcons.
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur called it a trap game and backed Atlanta. "Trap!
Bryce Young set career highs in yards per completion (15.7) and first downs per passing attempt (46 percent) while throwing for 361 yards in the loss to the Bears. And the Falcons couldn’t get anything going with Cooper Rush against a creaky, lethargic Pittsburgh Steelers team.
And the Panthers are not even laying a field goal?!? Easy money.
On the Falcons," he wrote.
On paper, the case for Carolina is easy enough to see: Atlanta’s offense was ugly last week, while the Panthers flashed real juice through the air. But this still has the feel of a game the Panthers can’t treat casually. Cooper Rush is starting, and Bijan Robinson is dangerous enough to keep Atlanta in the fight if Carolina isn’t sharp.
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Panthers Face An Uncomfortable Week 2 Warning In Atlanta
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The Falcons are dealing with major quarterback injury issues, with Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. both in the mix, and Cooper Rush is expected to get the start despite recent struggles. Even with that uncertainty, one CBS Sports analyst picked Atlanta to pull an upset, pointing to the way the Falcons want to run their offense and the defensive showing they just turned in. For the Panthers, that makes this more than a simple road game. It is an early warning that the division may be offering opportunities, but not many easy ones. [Read more 🡒]