Falcons - Panthers Week 8 open thread

When I looked at this matchup between the Falcons and Panthers, one of the easiest ones in the first half of the year for the Atlanta, I never dreamed in June, July, or August that these two teams would be competing for the NFC South lead. The NFL is a strange and wondrous place.

This is a matchup that favors the Falcons, given that Carolina seems unlikely to be able to bludgeon Atlanta to death through the air, and hopefully the Falcons are both .500 and still in sole possession of first place in the NFC South by the time we hit, say, 4 p.m. As flawed as Atlanta is, they have stability in their coaching staff, an improving roster, and have played in a lot of close games this year, and the Panthers really can’t say any of that with a straight face.

Go Falcons!