It’s Week 17 in the NFL which means 20 teams will be playing their final game of the 2010 season. The Falcons are not one of them, as they clinched a playoff spot a few weeks back. But that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for because with a win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday means they will clinch the NFC South along with the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
And the Falcons could not catch the Panthers at a better time. Forget about their 2-13 record, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced head coach John Fox will no longer be with the team Sunday and the Panthers could be without Steve Smith who did not practice on Friday due to a calf injury. But despite the Falcons defeating the Panthers 31-10 earlier in the month, they can’t take them lightly because the Panthers are well rested and will likely play hard for their coach who has been with the team since 2002.
One thing that the Falcons need to in order to win on Sunday is get the offense back on track. Last week against New Orleans, the offense only gained 215 total yards with a 3-for-12 third down efficiency rating. Michael Turner only rushed for 48 yards on 17 carries and Roddy White only had three catches for 43 yards. Those two along with Matt Ryan will look to have success against a Carolina team that gave up 327 yards of offense the last time these two teams met on December 12.
The offense will also look to limit the turnovers in their final regular season game of the 2010 season. Last week two turnovers by the Falcons either cost the Falcons points or led to points for the Saints. Fans should not worry because this is a team that leads the NFL in giveaways/takeaways with 13. The last time the Falcons took on the Panthers, they were able to cause a fumble and intercept a Jimmy Clausen pass which led to points. Clausen will get the start on Sunday so expect the defense to get after the rookie early and often.
Speaking of the defense, some would say they played one of their best games of the season last week, holding the Saints to only 17 points. They should have the same result against Carolina because the Panthers can’t score points, only averaging 12 points per game. In fact, the last time Carolina has scored over 20 points was on November 28 when they scored 23 points against the Cleveland Browns. Expect John Abraham, Kroy Biermann and the rest of the defensive front to have another big game, as they came up with five sacks the last time these two teams met.
As far as injuries go for the Falcons, they should be coming into the game relatively healthy. The only player that did not practice was Jonathan Babineaux who has a shoulder injury. He will be a game-time decision. Other players that are on the injury report are Roddy White (knee), Abraham (groin), Biermann (Calf), Curtis Lofton (knee) and Todd McClure (ankle).
The Falcons know if they win this game they do not have to travel anymore this season because they will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. So much was not said in the locker room about it because they want to come out there and play like it’s any other week. Carolina is a team that would like to end their season on a high note. But if the Falcons come out and play like they have played all season, Carolina will be in big trouble.
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