Written by :
Published on :
This may not have looked like a game to circle on the calendar early on but the surprising Atlanta Falcons and a Carolina Panthers team that have thus far lived up to expectations makes for one of the most anticipated games of the weekend. Both teams are looking to win the NFC South and for Atlanta, the payout will be extraordinary if you happened to get down on them prior to the start of the season.
Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons betting odds opened at Falcons -2. They were at -1 everywhere heading into Sunday morning.
Carolina overcome a sluggish start and kept Detroit winless with a 31-22 victory. ... Atlanta could not match a late Denver score with one of its own and fell to the Broncos, 24-20.
Even though the Panthers have been winning ugly at times, a victory over Atlanta will be their best start in franchise history.
Steve Smith, the Panthers' No. 1 receiver, has cooled off following a hot start to the season. After averaging 102 yards receiving per game in his first six starts, Smith has only 68 yards the last two weeks combined. He did have 96 yards and a TD in his first matchup against Atlanta this year, so this could be the game he breaks out.
Quarterback Jake Delhomme has won four of his past five starts against Atlanta, and is 7-1 in his past eight games against the division. He has passer rating above 110.0 in three of past four against the Falcons.
Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan is 4-1 (.800) at home for Atlanta with 110.1 rating.
Carolina has won 5 of the last 7 in this series and the away team has won 5 of the last 6.
The Panthers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss.
The Falcons are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. loss but this stat is somewhat offset by the fact that they are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. NFC South and 4-12-1 ATS in their last 17 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
The betting action on this game was favoring Carolina 60/40.
Gambling911.com will not be offering a prediction on this game.
Sportsinteraction.com was offering betting odds on this game plus get a 15 percent cash bonus when you open an online gambling account today.
Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
