Falcons will have Panthers rooting for them to get a win vs. Saints
Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be have its share of Falcons fans rooting for the home team against the Saints in Sunday’s regular-season finale.
The Panthers will be rooting harder.
Carolina, the Falcons’ NFC South rival, have the division title on the line. The Panthers (8-9) are tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) for first place, but the Bucs hold the tiebreaker between those two teams.
However, if the Falcons (7-9) win Sunday, it would create a three-way tie for first place, and in that scenario, the Panthers would win the tiebreaker because of their 3-1 head-to-head record against the Bucs and Falcons.
Should the Saints win or the game ends in a tie, the Buccaneers would claim a second straight division title.
The Buccaneers beat the Panthers 16-14 on Saturday, creating the potential gridlock atop the division standings.
Those scenarios have created an additional cheering section — even if it’s only for one week — for the Falcons.
“I think we’ll all be on the edge of our seats,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said after Saturday’s loss. “Hoping for the Falcons to come through, but at the same time, at least we have that hope to look at. We have to look at ourselves and we have to make sure that in these championship moments that we play our best.”
About the Author
Rod Beard is the Senior Sports Editor for pro sports at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joining the team after 20-plus years at The Detroit News, where he was a beat writer for the Pistons for seven years, after five years covering the Michigan men's basketball team.
