Thursday’s NFL Matchup

ATLANTA (4-5) AT CAROLINA (2-7)

KICKOFF: 8:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Falcons by 3

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Atlanta 6-3, Carolina 3-6.

SERIES RECORD: Falcons lead 35-20.

LAST MEETING: Falcons beat Panthers 37-34 in OT on Oct. 30 at Atlanta.

LAST WEEK: Falcons lost to Chargers 20-17; Panthers lost to Bengals 42-21.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Falcons LB Rashaan Evans leads Atlanta with 85 tackles, including at least five in every game this season. He had nine tackles with a sack against Carolina on Oct. 30 . ... Panthers RB D’Onta Foreman ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns on Oct. 30 vs. Atlanta.

KEY MATCHUP: Falcons RBs Cordarrelle Patterson/Tyler Allgeier vs. Panthers run defense. Patterson, who did not play in the first meeting, ran for two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Allgeier set career highs in scrimmage yards (123) and yards rushing (99) last week and is fourth among rookies in rushing with 423 yards. The Panthers allowed the Bengals to rush for 241 yards and five TDs on Sunday.

STATS AND STUFF: Atlanta and Carolina combined for four fourth-quarter touchdowns in the Falcons' 37-34 overtime win on Oct. 30 . ... Atlanta has won eight of the past 10 games in the NFC South rivalry, but hasn't swept a regular-season series between the teams since 2019 . ... The Falcons are the NFL's only team with four players with at least 250 rushing yards . ... QB Marcus Mariota has passed for 635 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions in the past four games. His 107.6 passer rating in that span ranks fifth in the league . ... The Falcons have drawn 49 penalties through nine games and are tied for third fewest in the league.