The Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons renew their rivalry on Sunday afternoon in a game with huge playoff implications and a ton of historical significance.
Falcons vs. Panthers 2015 picks and predictions: Carolina is heavy favorite to keep perfect record intact
The Panthers are a unanimous pick among the experts to improve to 13-0 on Sunday.
The Panthers' place in the record books is nearly secure. They are trying to become the second team in NFL history to complete a perfect 16-0 regular season. They have also won their last 16 regular-season games dating back to last December, the longest streak by an NFC team since the 1970 merger and the longest by any club since the Broncos ripped off 17 wins in a row from 2012-13.
A more immediate goal for the NFC South champs, however, is to nail down a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. They can clinch the former with a win over the Falcons on Sunday, guaranteeing they’ll be one of the top two seeds in the conference.
The Falcons, meanwhile, are also on the verge of making history ... in a much worse way, though. Atlanta was once among the NFL’s hottest teams when it won its first five games and seemed to be cruising towards its first playoff appearance since 2012.
Since then, however, the Falcons' season has become a nightmare. They've dropped five straight and six of seven games, slipping completely out of the postseason picture. Things have gotten so bad in Atlanta that the lack of effort by the team's defense in recent games is being called out by its opponents.
At 6-6, the Falcons own the NFC’s eighth seed and are one game out of the final wild card spot. It will likely take 10 wins in the NFC to earn a postseason berth, meaning that Atlanta probably has to run the table in the final four weeks to have a chance at punching its playoff ticket.
The historical trends aren’t favoring them in this matchup with Carolina. They’ve lost four of the last five meetings in the rivalry, and only once in franchise history have they ever handed the league’s last remaining unbeaten team its first loss of the season. That came back in 1973 when they stopped the 9-0 Vikings.
The experts aren’t optimistic about Atlanta’s chances of winning this game, either. Every guy at CBS Sports, ESPN and SB Nation has Carolina improving to 13-0 on Sunday.
| Week 14 | Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark |
| ATL vs CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR | CAR |
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