At least one former Seahawks defensive coordinator is having success as a head coach. Dan Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons can move one step closer to a NFC South title by knocking off the reigning three-time champion Carolina Panthers in Week 16. Known for his defense while running the show in Seattle, Quinn has turned the Falcons into an offensive powerhouse. He’s the last remaining former Seattle D coordinator in the league after his good friend Gus Bradley was let go on Sunday night.
Watch this regular season Week 16 matchup live on Saturday, December 24, 2016, at 1 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium.
Odds Analysis
The spread and total haven’t surfaced after the Panthers Monday night matchup. Carolina was a 2.5-point favorite when the clubs met in Week 4 and the Falcons blistered them in a 48-33 triumph while easily cashing the over. In a typical NFC North contest, expect the total to surface near 50 while the Falcons could be a slight road favorite.
Injury Report
Austin Hooper – The tight end plays a big role in the Falcons passing attack and the team is down another position player after Hooper sustained a knee injury in the 49ers game. Atlanta is already without starter Jacob Tamme, who went to injured reserve, leaving Levine Toilolo and rookie Joshua Perkins as the only tight ends on the active roster.
De’Vondre Campbell – The Falcons drafted to upgrade the defense this year and Campbell has been a find. The rookie moved into the starting lineup and supplied much needed athleticism to the linebacking corps. He sustained a concussion last week and entered the protocol, leaving his status up in the air. His absence leaves some open space in the second level for Greg Olsen.
Matchup to Watch
If defense wins championships, the Falcons are still a few years away. They are trying to change that old adage and have put themselves in a pretty good position to try and do that. Atlanta’s prolific offense is the main reason why the Falcons are closing in on the NFC South title and the defense has done just enough. But they’ve done very little as far as slowing down opponents in the red zone.
Atlanta has the worst red zone defense in the NFL, surrendering a touchdown on a whopping 76.6 percent of opponent trips inside their 20-yard line. While it makes for exciting, high-scoring games, that kind of play turns the hair on a coach’s head gray quickly, assuming it hasn’t been all pulled out yet. The Falcons have been able to outscore opponents more times than not this season with an offense that tops the league by scoring 33.5 points per game. It’s also allowed the Falcons to make over bettors plenty of coin. Atlanta has played above the closing total 12 times in 14 games and they combined with the Panthers to score 81 points when the teams met in Georgia in Week 4.
Free ATS Pick
Ron Rivera is wondering where this defense has been all season. The Panthers kept their faint playoff hopes alive with another impressive defensive effort on Monday night, clamping down on the Redskins in a 26-15 victory. It is much too little and far too late however. But it least Carolina is going down fighting. The Panthers need a miracle for a chance to defend their NFC title and in the meantime are having a blast playing spoiler. They put a severed dent in the Redskins’ hopes and can do the same to Atlanta while getting some payback for an earlier beatdown administered by the Falcons.
Atlanta has the division title in sight and it won’t be the Panthers who make it blurry. Playing last week without Julio Jones, the Falcons were able to put up 40 points for the fifth time. Jones is expected to play against the Panthers and he should be well-rested, giving Matt Ryan his favorite target back. The Falcons need to be better and more consistent on defense to have a shot at a deep playoff run, but as far as the NFC North goes, they’re pretty good. These two played a wild game earlier in the season with the Falcons winning 48-33 and this one should be just as fun, but not as high scoring.
NFL Odds: Falcons 33, Panthers 26
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