The Atlanta Falcons are fresh off of a statement victory for their first of 2025. Michael Penix Jr and the offense have been receiving all the headlines, but this one was all the defense. They forced four Viking takeaways, held them to six points, and sacked J.J. McCarthy six times. It was a flat-out dominant effort on the road, and a performance fans were waiting for.
However, the Dirty Birds will stay on the road in Week 3 and will head to Charlotte to face Bryce Young and the winless Panthers—who are reeling after a heartbreaking Week 2 loss to the Cardinals. The Panthers have a lot of red flags: a vulnerable defense, an offensive line missing two starters, and Young has been one of the worst quarterbacks in football through two weeks.
This is Atlanta's prime opportunity to improve to 2-1 against a lackluster division foe. The last time these teams met, Carolina prevailed in overtime, but that was nine months ago. If the Falcons want to come out of Bank of America with a win, they'll need to be at full strength.
Falcons' injury report sees key reinforcements return, but A.J. Terrell’s absence looms large
A.J. Terrell won't play in Week 3, the pass-catchers are all sorts of dinged up, and Atlanta could be without another star defender—which all could prove costly on Sunday afternoon. And in their second NFC South matchup of the season, the margin for error is slim. Below is the Falcons' final Week 3 injury report.
Did not participate in practice
- CB A.J. Terrell (hamstring)
- WR Jamal Agnew (groin)
- EDGE Leonard Floyd (not injury related)
- DL David Onyemata (not injury related)
Limited participant:
- CB Mike Ford Jr (groin)
- T Jake Matthews (not injury related)
- WR Casey Washington (concussion)
Full:
- WR Darnell Mooney (shoulder)
- TE Kyle Pitts (toe)
- S DeMarcco Hellams (hamstring
- ILB Kaden Elliss (neck)
- OL Jack Nelson (calf
- TE Charlie Woerner (ankle)
Ruled out
- CB AJ Terrell (hamstring)
- WR Jamal Agnew (groin)
- WR Casey Washington (concussion)
Let's break this down. After practicing in a limited capacity yesterday, Kyle Pitts practiced in full and has no injury designation for Sunday. Both Pitts and Charlie Woerner are a full go, and Darnell Mooney seems to be officially over his shoulder problem.
The main story here is that Raheem Morris held a lot of key players out of practice today for rest purposes. Jake Matthews, Leonard Floyd, and David Onyemata will all play in Week 3, but were given a rare Friday off. It's unusual you see players be held out at the end of the week rather than the beginning, but it never hurts to be safe.
Kaden Elliss and DeMarcco Hellams are good to go for Sunday—but maybe seventh-round rookie Jack Nelson finally makes his NFL debut. As for Agnew and Washington, their absences reveal a glaring lack of depth at receiver. open up more snaps for KhaDarrel Hodge and David Sills V.
It was expected that Terrell wouldn't play when Morris called him "week to week" earlier this week, so now Dee Alford will spend most of the game on Tetairoa McMillan. But while the Pro Bowl DB is out, the Falcons will have James Pearce Jr on Sunday.
He practiced in a limited fashion yesterday due to a groin issue, so having the first-round rookie ready to roll against a Panthers' offensive line missing both Robert Hunt and Austin Corbett is invaluable.