After facing a couple of AFC teams who don’t have a significant history against the Falcons, Atlanta now plays a team whom they know very well in the division rival Carolina Panthers. These teams have played in the same division ever since Carolina’s inception in 1995, meeting twice every season over the past 26 years.
While the Falcons have a razor thin margin in their record against the Bucs and Saints (falling to a .500 record against Tampa earlier this year and having one more win than defeat against New Orleans), the Panthers are a division rival they have historically owned, sporting a glistening 33-19 record against their I-85 opponents.