Here are five things to know before today’s Panthers (1-0) at Falcons (0-1) kickoff at 1 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
1. Freeman is out: Falcons running back Devonta Freeman will not play. He has a bruised right knee and is expected to miss two weeks. Tevin Coleman will take over in the starting line up and will be backed up by Ito Smith and Brian Hill.
2. Panthers are hurting: The Panthers will be without three starting offensive linemen in left tackle Matt Kalil, right tacke Daryl Williams and right guard Trai Turner. Also, tight end Greg Olsen is out with a broken foot.
3. Series history: This will be the Falcons' 47th regular-season meeting with the Panthers. The Falcons lead the series, 28-18. The two teams split last season with Carolina winning 20-17 at home on Nov. 5 and the Falcons winning 22-10 on Dec. 31 at home. Here's the analysis of this game.
4. Falcons look to get Ridley involved: Falcons rookie wide receiver Calvin Ridley played 46 of 70 offensive snaps (66 percent) in the season-opening 18-12 loss to the Eagles on Sept. 6. The rookie wide receiver was targeted on two plays, but didn't have a catch. "I wished we'd gotten him a little bit more involved," Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. "Games go certain ways. ... I wasn't envisioning them not doubling Julio (Jones) the whole game, until the last couple of snaps of the game there."
5. Where to watch, listen: Here's the broadcast information for Sunday's game which is being televised by Fox Sports with Dan Hellie handling the play-by-play, Greg Jennings the commentating and Karyn Bryant as the side line reporter.
