In what should be another interesting matchup to watch, the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons face off where the winner stands to get the NFC South and get the fourth seed of the NFL playoffs.
Despite their sub-par performance and records, the Panthers seem to be peaking at the right time. After three straight wins dating back to the start of the month, the defending NFC South Champions could still pull of a last minute effort to gain the playoffs.
And this early, the Panthers are favored to prevail over the Falcons. Carolina carries a plus-4 odds going into Sunday's showdown.
The Panthers have turned it up a notch, rediscovering their franchise players and allowing them to do what they do best – run around and make their plays.
The rebooted Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart are making this happen for Carolina, both adapting well to the teams play-action and movement-based strategy, resulting in a more organized and flawless offense as seen from the Panthers last three games.
The 2011 Rookie of the Year seems to have come back to form and has fit in perfectly with the revved up Panthers. Newton missed 15 weeks due to a back injury and his return spells more trouble for the Falcons.
On the other end, the Falcons chances have become even dimmer with reports that running back Steven Jackson may be ruled out for Sunday's tiff. Jackson suffered a quad injury in Atlanta's previous win over the Saints.
In his place, the Falcons may have to turn to Jacquizz Rodgers and Devonta Freeman to fill up the slack of Jackson.
From ESPN:
"We've got to get both of those guys ready to go,'' Smith said. "And I think both of them, if they have to play, will be prepared and ready to go.''
The Panthers and the Falcons get it on this Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET with the game being broadcast on TV on CBS. The game can also be watched online via live stream by clicking here.
