Falcons - Panthers final score predictions for Week 8

If you thought the brief burst of cautious optimism last week was going to carry over to Thursday Night Football...well, sorry to disappoint. This week, our writer roundtable doesn’t love Atlanta’s chances, even if we all think it’s going to be close.

Falcons 21 - Panthers 22

I’m just going to lean into the heartbreak. Atlanta has lost 3 games this year where they had a 94% chance or better of winning in the 4th quarter. That is a legendary performance and hell, why not add one more. Matt Ryan will throw for 350 yards and 3 TDs but one of his two incompletions will be for a potential game winning toss in the end zone. The cries for “that bum” to be traded will amplify, and my liver will finally give out. This is 2020 and the Falcons are the perfect team for this year. - David Walker

Falcons 14 - Panthers 24

The Falcons really have to show something for me to believe in them. They flashed against a few teams, and put together only one full game against Minnesota. Looking at the remainder of the season, how many of these appear to be wins? If the new coaching staff can’t get it done against the Lions, I really can’t expect them to be competitive, let alone win, against Carolina. - Matt Chambers

Falcons 24 - Panthers 27

The Falcons just can’t be trusted right now. A fully healthy Atlanta team (minus Takk McKinley and maybe Jaylinn Hawkins) should fare better against Carolina, but this is a short week road game after Atlanta just finished blowing a lead against the Detroit Lions. I’ll believe it when I see it, even if I’m sure this one will be close. - Dave Choate

Falcons 23 – Panthers 27

As much as I want to pick the Falcons in this game, I can’t. I just don’t trust them to travel to Charlotte, play in primetime and win the game without doing something silly to embarrass themselves. A lot of people incorrectly thought relieving head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff of their duties would somehow change the team’s fortunes. We know this to be false, and they now stare 1-7 in the face at the halfway point of the season. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Falcons manage to win, and I think it’ll be somewhat competitive, but a loss is likely. – Evan Birchfield

Falcons 24 - Panthers 28

The Falcons will enter this game just four days removed from another mentally draining loss and not only is it a short week but they are also on the road. While the Panthers sport a 3-4 record, their play this season on both sides of the ball has been admirable to say the least. Their defense is stingy and the offense makes very few mistakes. Having Julio Jones back on the field here is very noteworthy being that he missed the first meeting a few weeks back. In order to pull out a win here, the Falcons offense will have to be very efficient against a solid scoring defense and the Falcons defense will need to win in the trenches. Is that too much to ask for? - Eric Robinson