The 0-4 Falcons are a desperate team, but finally they get an opponent they are better than. The Panthers are 2-2, but only one of their games was against a team with a winning record or an above-average power rating. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan has been above average in three of his four games.

The Panthers head to Atlanta following two big outright wins as underdogs. Meanwhile, the Falcons are one of four winless teams and likely will be without key personnel. Last year, they were in a similar woeful position at 1-7. Two wins that catapulted them to 7-9 took place against Carolina, with both coming by at least 20 points. Expect the Falcons to get in the win column.

The Falcons are on the short week and probably without Julio Jones. Their defense has been destroyed by injuries. I get all that. Let's call this the Dan Quinn Referendum game. If the Dirty Birds like their coach, which by all accounts they do, they win here or Quinn is probably a goner later Sunday. I realize no fans there, but playing in a dome is a bit different and it's Carolina's first such game this season. This line opened at Falcons -3.5. Not sure I would have taken them there but at -1? Yep.

Even though this total is sky high, it should still get over. It starts with the Falcons' No. 31-ranked defense that allows 448 ypg and 34.5 ppg. The Panthers will make some big plays and the Falcons won’t go away. Just the Over.

The Panthers defense is really coming together, and it did a great job against two offenses (Chargers, Cardinals) that have otherwise been solid in recent weeks. The Panthers offense is also outgaining the Falcons in yards per play, and with the Falcons giving up 30-plus in every game so far, I think we can reasonably say the Panthers are the better team here. Then you come to Dan Quinn, who is 20-35 ATS as a favorite in his career and appears to be playing out the string at 0-4 until a coaching change is made. Carolina, on the other hand, is a team on the rise that has a chance to be tied for first place after this game.

The Carolina Panthers have won two straight games and a big reason why is because of a young defense that's improving with each passing week. The same can't be said about a Falcons' defense that seems to get worse. Plus, they enter this game against Carolina a bit banged up on that side of the ball as well. The Panthers' offense is firing on all cylinders and should continue to have success against Atlanta.

Yeah, there's nothing in the world that could make me want to back the Falcons as a favorite right now. We're talking about a team that is 0-4 on the season with a horrendous defense. A team that's only proven to be good at one thing and that thing happens to be blowing games. The Panthers aren't exactly juggernauts, but losing Christian McCaffrey hasn't had as large an impact on the team as I suspected it would. I guess running backs really don't matter after all. Either way, we're on the Panthers here because Teddy Bridgewater is 19-5 ATS as a dog (14-2 ATS as a road dog), and the Falcons are only 18-33 ATS as a favorite under Dan Quinn.