Steve Wilks found a winning formula for the Panthers

But they’ve had to stay on the field too long because of an offense that ranks last (32nd) in the league in time of possession, at 25 minutes, 36 seconds per game.

Linebacker Shaq Thompson is the team’s leading tackler, with 46. Linebacker Frankie Luvu and safety Xavier Woods are tied for second, with 36 tackles.

Brian Burns leads the Panthers with five sacks, and defensive tackle Derrick Brown anchors the line and has 28 tackles and four quarterback hits.

“They are going to be coming in here and they should (be) confident,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “It’s been a good defense in Carolina the last couple of years. They’ve had a good defense, and they ran the ball really well (against Tampa Bay).”

Steve Wilks, who was with the Panthers from 2012-17 as an assistant under coach Ron Rivera, took over as the interim coach this season after Matt Rhule was fired after a 1-4 start.

In his first game, Wilks had to send wide receiver Robbie Anderson to the locker room and later traded him. The Panthers also traded running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers for a bushel of draft picks.

The Panthers relied on the play of quarterback P.J. Walker and a rushing attack to upset the Bucs. Also, running back D’Onta Foreman rushed 15 times for 118 yards, and Chuba Hubbard added 63 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

McCaffrey had most of the carries for the Panthers through six games. Foreman was with the Falcons for part of the 2021 season before surfacing back in Tennessee, where he performed well after Derrick Henry was injured. He rushed for 566 yards and three touchdowns in nine games for the Titans.

Wide receiver D.J. Moore has had at least 1,100 yards receiving in each of the past three seasons. He has 27 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns.

Wilks, who started his coaching career in the HBCU ranks at Johnson C. Smith and Savannah State, was the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for one season in 2018.

While the Panthers are coming off a big win, the Falcons are looking to rebound from a 35-17 spanking from the Bengals.

“Didn’t play very well, and (the Panthers) did,” Smith said. “Whatever team is able to prepare and make adjustments this week and be ready to roll will win on Sunday.”

The Falcons are preparing for Walker to continue at quarterback for the Panthers.

“I think he is a very tough-minded player,” Smith said. “It seems like he’s got pretty good pocket presence. You can see why guys are confident when he’s in there.”

Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield (ankle) and Sam Darnold (ankle) likely won’t face the Falcons.

“It’s going to be tough to not put him back in there,” Wilks said to the Charlotte media Monday. “As of right now, I don’t see any reason to. I still want to evaluate things through the week, but I thought his performance (against Tampa) was really impressive, just the things he did, from commanding the offense, pushing the ball downfield.”

The Panthers opened the game with a deep pass from Walker. Everything didn’t go well.

“He and I talked about a few things, we were in great field-goal position and took a sack; that’s something we can’t do,” Wilks said. “Other than that, I thought he had a great football game.”

For more content about the Atlanta Falcons

Follow me on Twitter @DorlandoAJC

On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now

On Instagram at DorlandoLed

Atlanta Falcons coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Bow Tie Chronicles

Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule

Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26

Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27

Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23

Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20

Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15

Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14

Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17

Oct. 30 vs. Carolina, 1 p.m.

Nov. 6 vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1 p.m.

Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.

Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.

Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.

Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.

BYE WEEK

Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD

Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.

Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.

Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD