PANTHERS STATISTICS

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, MercedesBenz Stadium, Atlanta

TV: Fox

Danny Sheridan’s line: Falcons by 41⁄2

Panthers’ keys to victory

The Panthers beat the Cowboys 16-8 in their season opener but also saw TE Greg Olsen and OT Daryl Williams get injured. The Panthers have to continue using QB Cam Newton and RB Christian McCaffrey heavily as rushers. They also need one of their receivers outside of Devin Funchess to produce. Against Dallas, the rest of the Carolina wide receivers had four catches for 38 yards. The Panthers defensive backs (CB James Bradberry in particular) must do a better job of covering WR Julio Jones, who had 198 receiving yards in two games between the teams last season.

Falcons’ keys to victory

Falcons QB Matt Ryan has to be more accurate and timely with his passes. Ryan was sacked four times and had a passer rating of 57.4 in a Week 1 loss to Philadelphia. Carolina’s front seven is nasty as well, so RT Ryan Schraeder will also have to step up his game after allowing nine pressures in the season opener. TE Austin Hooper and rookie WR Calvin Ridley have to bounce back after quiet debuts. Defensively, Falcons DE Vic Beasley must get more pressure on QB Cam Newton than he did on QB Nick Foles, whom he didn’t hit once.

Who wins?

Ryan is much better than the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, and he’ll be the difference in Week 2.

Falcons, 27-24 Passing

Panthers Opp. Rushing Panthers Opp. Scoring Panthers Opp. Att

26 17 146 65.4 29 19 138 65.5 Att. Yds Avg Lng TD 32 22 TD 147 4.6 29 94 4.3 17 Rsh Rec Ret 2200 16 11008 Possession Avg. Total Net Yards Net Yards Rushing Avg. Per Game Net Yards Passing Avg. Per Game Possession Avg. Total Net Yards Net Yards Rushing Avg. Per Game Net Yards Passing Avg. Per Game Cmp Yds Cmp% 2 1 Pts Panthers Opp. W ............ Dallas ............ 16-8 Sept. 16 ..... at Atlanta ..... 1 Sept. 23 ..... Cincinnati ..... 1 Sept. 30 ............ Bye ............ Oct. 7 ...... N.Y. Giants ...... 1 Oct.14 .atWashington .1 Oct.21 .atPhiladelphia .1 Oct. 28 ...... Baltimore ...... 1 Nov. 4 ...... Tampa Bay ...... 1 Nov. 8 . at Pittsburgh . 8:20 Nov. 18 ...... at Detroit ...... 1 Nov.25 ........ Seattle ........ 1 Dec. 2 ... at Tampa Bay ... 1 Dec. 9 .... at Cleveland .... 1 Dec. 17 New Orleans 8:15 Dec. 23 ........ Atlanta ........ 1 Dec. 30 at New Orleans 1 Yds/ Att

5.6 0 4.8 0 Receiving Panthers Opp. Int Panthers Opp.

Kicking TD

Panthers Opp. Int

0 0 Rec. Lng

19 20 Yds

3/15 82.4 6/32 81.1 Avg Lng TD 17 161 9.5 19 19 170 8.9 20 No. Yds Avg 0 0 0 0 0 0

PAT

1/2 0/0

Total First Downs Rushing

3rd Down Pct. 4th Down/Att. 4th Down Pct. Penalties/Yards Sack/ Lost

FG

1/1 0/1 Panthers Rtg 0 0 TD 0 0

Pts

4

0 Opp. L .... at Philadelphia .... 18-12 Sept. 16 ........ Carolina ........ 1 Sept. 23 .... New Orleans .... 1 Sept. 30 ....... Cincinnati ....... 1 Oct. 7 ...... at Pittsburgh ...... 1 Oct. 14 ....... Tampa Bay ....... 1 Oct. 22 .... N.Y. Giants .... 8:15 Oct. 28 ............... Bye ............... Nov. 4 .... at Washington .... 1 Nov. 11 ..... at Cleveland ..... 1 Nov. 18 ........... Dallas ........... 1 Nov. 22 .at New Orlns .8:20 Dec. 2 ......... Baltimore ......... 1 Dec. 9 ...... at Green Bay ...... 1 Dec. 16 .......... Arizona .......... 1 Dec. 23 ....... at Carolina ....... 1 Dec. 30 .... at Tampa Bay .... 1