Carolina returns home in Week Six to take on NFC South foe, the Atlanta Falcons, marking the team’s lone game in Bank of America Stadium during the month of October. The two teams will also square off in Atlanta for the season finale.
All time, this will mark the 59th regular-season matchup between the two teams with Atlanta leading 36-22. The Falcons have a slight advantage (15-14 record) in games played in Carolina. The two teams last squared off in Week 15 last season, as the Panthers were victorious at home, 9-7. The Panthers have won the last two matchups in Bank of America Stadium after losing the four previous games dating back to 2018.
Carolina enters the week with a 1-4 record after falling to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, 36-10. This will mark the team’s second divisional matchup of the season after falling to the New Orleans Saints at the beginning of the season.
Atlanta comes to Carolina atop the NFC South division after back-to-back inner-division victories. The Falcons are 3-2 on the season and 2-0 in the division after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 36-30, in Week Five.
The Matchup
About Carolina
- RB Chuba Hubbard continued his stellar start to the 2024 season, finishing the game with 97 rushing yards on 13 carries (7.5 avg). He added his second rushing touchdown of the season with a 38-yard scamper on the team’s second drive of the game, tying the longest run of his career that occurred a week ago against the Cincinnati Bengals.
- Rookie LB Trevin Wallace made his first career start in Week Five against the Chicago Bears and his presence was immediately felt, posting a game-high 15 total tackles. His 15 tackles are the most recorded by a Panthers player since Luke Kuechly (17) in Week 15 of the 2019 season.
- QB Andy Dalton will appear in his 174th career game (167th start against the Atlanta Falcons in Week Six, which ranks sixth among quarterbacks since entering the league in 2011. He is 3-0 in three starts against the Falcons, completing 55-of-82 passes for 740 yards and six touchdowns for a 114.9 passer rating. His last game
against Atlanta came in Week 15 of the 2022 season while with the Saints.
- In 82 career games, WR Diontae Johnson has caught 414 passes for 4,625 yards and 27 touchdowns. Since entering the league in 2019, he ranks 12th in catches, 18th in receiving yards and tied for 22nd in receiving touchdowns. He also is tied for ninth in the NFL with 48 games with five or more receptions over the same time span.
- K Eddy Piñeiro has made 33-consecutive field goals at Bank of America Stadium, which is the second-longest streak in Panthers history behind Graham Gano’s 41-straight conversions (2016-18). It is also the longest active streak for a kicker in their home stadium in the NFL.
About Atlanta
- WR Drake London leads the Falcons in receptions (32) and receiving yards (354) this season, and has three touchdowns in the Falcons past four games, the first time in his career he has scored three touchdowns in a four-game span.
- The Falcons are the only team in the NFL to have two receivers in the league’s top 14 of receiving yards, with WR Drake London (12th, 354 yards) and WR Darnell Mooney (14th, 330 yards).
- QB Kirk Cousins set franchise records and career bests in both completions (42) and passing yards (509) vs. Tampa Bay, completing 42-of58 passes (72.4 percent) and tying his career high with four touchdowns. Both his yards and completions are league bests this season. Cousins is now the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 450+ yards in a game for three separate teams (Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta).
- Atlanta’s defense leads the NFL in limiting opponent plays of 20-or-more yards. The Falcons defense has only allowed 10 plays of 20+ yards this season, according to STATS LLC.
- nFalcons S Jessie Bates III forced a career-best two fumbles in the Falcons Week 5 win over the Buccaneers, including a forced fumble with 2:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, forcing a turnover at Atlanta’s 25-yard line to give the Falcons the ball back down three. Bates also led the Falcons with eight tackles (three solo) in Week 5.
Connections
Panthers CB Jaycee Horn (Alpharetta), S Jammie Robinson (Cordele), LB Trevin Wallace (Jesup), OLB Chandler Wooten (Acworth), and TE Tommy Tremble (Johns Creek) are all from Georgia. CB Shemar Bartholomew went to Georgia Southern (2023).
Falcons S Jessie Bates III attended Wake Forest (2015-17). P Bradley Pinion (Concord), CB Mike Hughes (New Berk), LB James Smith-Williams (20155-19), G Jovaughn Gwyn (Charlotte), and T Brandon Parker (Kannapolis) all grew up in North Carolina. Hughes (2015), aST Steven King (2019-21), SDA Dave Huxtable (2001-03), OLs/RGC Dwayne Ledford (2005) and QBs T.J. Yates (2006-10) all spent time at UNC. DE Kentavius Street (2014-17), Smith-Williams (2015-19), and aOLs Shawn Flaherty (2017-18) all spent time at NC State. C Ryan Neuzil (2016-20) and Ledford (2012-15) both spent time at Appalachian State. Parker (2013-17) attended North Carolina A&T. CB Antonio Hamilton Sr. grew up in Johnston, S.C. and attended South Carolina State (2013-15). CB A.J. Terrell (2017-19), WR Ray-Ray McCloud III (2015-17), DE Grady Jarrett (2011-14), DT Ruke Orhorhoro (2019-23), Pinion (2012-14)
and PGC Chandler Whitmer (2020) all spent time at Clemson. Gwyn (2018-22) went to South Carolina.
Panthers vs Falcons
All-Time Series (Regular Season): 58 matchups | Atlanta leads 36-22
Last Regular Season Game: 12/17/23 | Carolina 9 vs. Atlanta 7
Series Record in Carolina: Atlanta leads 15-14
How to Watch
Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. ET FOX: Play by Play – Chris Myers; Analyst – Mark Sanchez; Sideline – Kristina Pink
Radio: WRFX 99.7FM in Charlotte market – Jim Szoke (Play by Play), Kurt Coleman (Color), Kevin Donnalley (Color), Sharon Thorsland (Sideline)
Per Release
The Multi-Million Dollar Bet: UNC Charts a Path Forward Under Belichick