The Atlanta Falcons could lose this game to the Carolina Panthers, yes, but that possibility appears increasingly remote thanks to this team being utterly rudderless and awful against a parade of teams over the last month-plus. Take Cam Newton out of the equation and things are even worse.
And you’ll have to take Newton out. Ron Rivera and his staff might be in big trouble and they know it, but they can’t continue to trot the franchise out there with his shoulder hanging from a frayed thread. That means the Panthers will be starting Taylor Heinicke, a 25-year-old Atlanta native with 46 passing yards this year.