This should be a great matchup.  In week #4 the Panthers pounded the Falcons 24-9 in Carolina.  But, the Panthers have not really played too well on the road this season.  They are 2-2 on the road but they have been outscored 77-56 in those games.  The Falcons have really been a great home team as they are 4-1 in Atlanta and they have outscored the opponents 148-99!  The Panthers will likely attempt to keep the ball on the ground with D’Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart who each rushed for over 100 yards last week.  The Falcons allow 119.6 yards rushing per game and 4.9 ypc so the Panthers should have some success on the ground tomorrow.  The Panthers must keep DE John Abraham (11 sacks) out of their backfield or Jake Delhomme could have some trouble.  The Falcons allow 226.4 yards passing per game this season so if Delhomme has time to throw then Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammad could have big games.

The Falcons’ offensive line has been great this season as they have only allowed 12 sacks while averaging 153.4 yards rushing per game.  The Panthers are allowing 107.6 yards rushing per game this season and 4.0 ypc so Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood should have good games.  The Falcons must keep DE Julius Peppers (9 sacks) out of the backfield to give Matt Ryan time to throw the ball.  Ryan better be careful because the Panthers have more interceptions (9) then the opponents have TD passes (8).  Still, Ryan will be looking for Roddy White often as he is having a monster season.

PREDICTION:  ATLANTA FALCONS 30, CAROLINA PANTHERS 27

The Atlanta Falcons have taken off the training wheels for rookie QB Matt Ryan and he’s been rewarding them.  He has played in 9 games for the Falcons this season and he has completed 149 of 250 passes (59.6%) for 1,909 yards with 11 TD passes and 5 interceptions (89.9 QB Rating).  Ryan has also carried the ball 26 times for 54 yards (2.1 ypc) this season.  Ryan will likely be one of the best QBs in the NFL in the near future if the Falcons can get him a legit TE and another WR to go with Roddy White.

The Broncos (5-4) and Falcons (6-3) are both having good seasons and this is a huge game for both of them.  The Broncos will likely come out throwing the ball this week seeing how they will be starting rookie fullback Peyton Hillis at tailback.  Jay Cutler should have success throwing the ball against the Falcons as they allow 228.4 yards passing per game.  The Broncos’ O-Line has been terrific this season allowing only 7 sacks but DE John Abraham (11 sacks) will have his sites on Jay Cutler all game long.  If Cutler has time to throw the ball Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal and TE Tony Scheffler could all be in line for big games.

The Falcons will come out doing what they are best at and that’s running the ball against a Broncos’ defense that is allowing 146.3 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry.  The Broncos don’t have the linebackers to deal with Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood.  If the Broncos sneak up to stop the run, look for rookie QB Matt Ryan to go over the top to Roddy White and Michael Jenkins against the Broncos who are allowing 242.8 yards passing per game.  Opposing QBs have a stunning 103.2 QB Rating against the Broncos this season.

PREDICTION:  ATLANTA FALCONS 34, DENVER BRONCOS 30

The Falcons have lost 26-year old WR/PR Adam Jennings off waivers to the Lions.  This is not much of a loss for the Falcons as Jennings never lived up to his potential in Atlanta.  Jennings played in 7 games for the Falcons this season and he didn’t catch any passes.  He did however return 23 punts for a whopping 151 yards (6.6 avg).  In three years with the Falcons, Jennings played in 38 games and caught 6 passes for 62 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also returned 53 punts for 337 yards (6.4 avg) and 24 kickoffs for 551 yards (23.0 avg).  This is not much of a loss for the Falcons.

The Falcons are a surprising 4-3 on the season while the Raiders are 1-1 under new head coach Tom Cable.  The Falcons will likely attack the Raiders on the ground first with Michael Turner (655 yards rushing, 4.5 ypc, 6 TDs) and Jerious Norwood (285 yards rushing, 6.3 ypc) as the Raiders allow 144.1 yards rushing per game and 4.5 ypc.  As soon as the Raiders cheat up to stop the Falcons running game look for rookie QB Matt Ryan to throw deep on play action getting the ball to Roddy White.  White has been unstoppable this season and the Raiders allow 218.4 yards passing per game.

The Raiders will also come out running the football as they average 129.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Falcons’ defense doesn’t really do anything well allowing 128.6 yards rushing per game and 232.9 yards passing per game so this could be the game that JaMarcus Russell plays well.  Coach Cable has wanted to take the training wheels off of Russell and this is the perfect opportunity to do it.

PREDICTION:  ATLANTA FALCONS 24, OAKLAND RAIDERS 20