Coaching chance isn't likely to alter matchup

Panthers’ interim head coach has been in role before.

When the Buffalo Bills fired

Dick Jauron in 2009, Perry Fewell coached against the Falcons as the interim head coach.

Fewell, a longtime defensive backs coach in the NFL, will be the interim head coach for the Panthers (5-7) when they face the Falcons (3-9) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

In the 15th game of the regular season in 2009, the Falcons defeated Fewell and the Bills 31-3 to improve to 8-7. The next week, with a win over Tampa Bay, they secured the first back-toback winning seasons in franchise history.

Panthers owner David Tepper fired Ron Rivera on Tues- day with four games to play.

The Panthers, started the season 4-2, but have lost five of their past six games, including a 29-3 loss to the Falcons on Nov. 17.

With Rivera gone, the Panthers moved their staff around, with veteran NFL coach Norv Turner becom- ing the special assistant to the head coach. Scott Turner, Norv Turner’s son, will take over as offensive coordinator.

In Rivera’s defense, the team played only two games with quarterback Cam Newton. The former league MVP has been out with a foot injury. In Newton’s place, the Panthers have used Kyle Allen, who was undrafted after playing in college at Texas A&M and Houston.

In eight-plus seasons, Rivera was 76-63-1 and took the team to the playoffs four times. The Panthers won the NFC title in 2015 season before losing to the Broncos in Super Bowl 50. He won three NFC South titles.

Fewell, 57, who was the secondary coach, first started coaching in the NFL in 1998 under Tom Coughlin at Jack- sonville. He also has been an assistant coach with the Rams, Bears, Bills, Giants

and Redskins. The dynamics of Sunday’s game likely

will not change much. The Pa n thers have a porous run defense that gave up 248 yards rushing in the 29-21 loss to Washington on Sunday. The Panthers have allowed 137.5 yard rushing per game, which ranks 29th in the league.

However, in the previous matchup, the Panthers kept safety Eric Reid near the line of scrimmage and held the Falcons to 54 yards rushing on 26 carries. The Falcons have not rushed for more than 73 yards in eight games.

The Falcons, who have rushed for more than 100 yards only twice this season, average 74.3 yards rush

ing per game, which ranks 30th in the league. Falcons running back Devonta Freeman did not play in the previous game.

“Of course, we’d like to be balanced on first and sec

ond down,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “We’d like to run the ball more efficiently and more explosively. We’d like to, if we take more advantage of our opportunities, that are presented to us earlier in the game. Hopefully we are not down two scores, and we can stay with the running game.”

With the Panthers stalking the Falcons’ rushing attack, wide receivers Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley were free to do damage. They combined to catch 14 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown. Also, the defense was opportunistic, recording four interceptions, including three inside

Carolina’s red zone. The Panthers’ offense has revolved around running back Christian McCaffrey, who has rushed 235 times for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s also caught 75 passes for 644 yards and four touchdowns.

“Any division game is always a great challenge,” Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “We know they are going to come out aggressive and try to get a win. We just have to lock in on the details. On the back end, when they challenge us, we just have to make our plays.”

STREETER LECKA / GETTY IMAGES Undrafted Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen took over after Cam Newton’s foot injury sidelined him for most of this season — he has played in only two games.