Do the Atlanta Falcons have a chance to beat the Panthers?

The Atlanta Falcons will be looking to be the first team to take down the undefeated Carolina Panthers next week in the Georgia dome but do they really have a legitimate shot at knocking them off?

Nobody expected the Panthers to be sitting at 14-0 with two games to play but they have been able to prove the doubters wrong week after week. The Panthers have defeated 13 different teams including the Falcons in week 14 but the second time around is always a tougher task.

The Falcons are still in the playoff hunt and will need to win out in order to keep their chances alive which will give the team an extra motivation to play at their absolute best against the Panthers.

Many are starting to wonder whether or not the Panthers will start to rest some of their starters in order to better prepare themselves for the playoffs but they have not shown a want to do that just yet. So the odds of them doing so against the Falcons are slim to none.

While a loss for the Panthers doesn’t really affect them in any way, it would give the Falcons major bragging rights heading into the offseason especially if Carolina were to make a deep playoff run. No matter what the records show, a rivalry game is always going to be tough and full of energy.

The Panthers gave the Falcons an absolute beat down in week 14. Carolina handed the Falcons their first shutout since 2004 and left the Falcons walking off of the field with their tails between their legs. But the Falcons didn’t let that get to them for very long and rebounded with a win against the Jaguars which snapped a 6-game losing streak.

It will take a lot in order to beat the Panthers but it is doable. Carolina has had several close calls including a 38-35 win over the New York Giants yesterday so anything is possible. How awesome would it be to be the one team to knock off the Panthers and keep them from having a perfect regular season record? Extremely awesome.

Rise up!