Worst Division In Football

This week's installment of Thursday Night Football features a rivalry from the NFC South, which has looked like easily the weakest division in the NFL thus far. With Tampa Bay struggling far more than anticipated, not a single NFC South team has even achieved a .500 record. The Falcons have a chance to change that and, more importantly, claim the division lead with a win over the Panthers 👀

• Atlanta has managed to surpass lowly expectations for this season through their reliable run game, amassing the second-highest percentage of rushing plays in the league

• They'll be taking on a Panthers squad looking for revenge after a controversial OT loss to the very same team two weeks ago 🍿

Despite the lack of talent in the NFC South, Carolina has next to no chance of winning the division. Since firing coach Matt Rhule five games in the season, the Panthers have embarked on a full-scale rebuild, trading franchise cornerstone Christian McCaffrey and benching mercurial QB Baker Mayfield. Jeff Bezos can't be too excited about another middling Thursday Night matchup 😂

Falcons vs. Panthers Betting Preview (subject to change)

• Spread: Falcons -2.5

• Moneyline: Falcons -144 (bet $144, win $100), Panthers +122 (bet $100, win $122)

• Over/Under: 43.5

Can Pitts Get Going?

There has been no bigger disappointment in fantasy football this year than Kyle Pitts. Pitts was hailed as a generational prospect when the Falcons drafted him fourth overall in the 2021 draft (over Ja'Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle), the highest spot ever for a tight end. So far this season, Pitts has failed to make anything close to the star-level impact many projected, averaging less than three receptions per game 😬

• Atlanta has embraced the running game with dual threat QB Marcus Mariota under center, but they'll need to target Pitts more in order to unlock the offense

• It feels plain wrong to watch Atlanta refuse to make use of their insanely athletic weapon every week. It's clear that, despite his lack of consistent productivity, Pitts can help drive the Falcons' success 👇

Despite boasting a bevy of talented players, the Panthers failed to build momentum out the gates, and of course gave up on any real hopes of cohesion and contention by firing Rhule and trading McCaffrey

• In many ways, the thrilling finish of the last Falcons-Panthers matchup was a perfect microcosm of the Panthers' season. They completed perhaps the play of the year with a last minute hail mary that appeared to seal an improbable win 😳

• But, in typical Panthers fashion, DJ Moore took off his helmet following the play, causing a 15-yard penalty which led to kicker Eddy Pineiro missing the extra point (Pineiro had a rough night, missing another kick that could have won the game in OT)

• CMC then went and scored three different types of TDs later that night

What can go wrong has found a way to do so for this Carolina squad, and it's hard to see that changing at this point in the year 😬

• All odds point toward the Panthers bottoming out for the remainder of the season

• They'll be looking to finally find a franchise QB in the draft, after a few unsuccessful attempts to acquire one via trade

For My Parlay Gurus

I think the spread is a bit low on this one, given the Panthers' current lack of motivation to stack up wins. I like Atlanta to cover in a low-scoring affair, and take the lead in the NFL South, which could admittedly be short-lived if Tampa Bay wins on Sunday in Munich. Take a look 👇

• Falcons -2.5 @ Panthers: -114

• Under 42.5 Total Points: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $258 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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