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This could be bad.
The Carolina Panthers are currently 12-0, amidst the best season in their franchise's history, and playing some of the best football in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons are 6-6, and as you know, they are emphatically not playing some of the best football in the NFL. They haven't been doing so for weeks.
The Falcons have been able to at least play the Panthers close in the past, but this is a much better team than the 2014 Carolina Panthers, and the 2014 Carolina Panthers blew Atlanta off the field in a must-win Week 17 game a year ago, removing any remaining doubt we might have had about Mike Smith being fired. I'm not expecting a blow out in any way, shape, or form, but this is not a matchup that favors the Falcons in any way.
Given that, I'll go on record with a score prediction of 31-24, Panthers. I think Atlanta will keep it closer than many will think and will gin up a little more offense than we're accustomed to, but they'll ultimately fall short. Now I turn it over to you.