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 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 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

Both of these teams are 2-2 on the season and the matchups look close in this football game.  But, the Falcons have not played well on the road getting beat by a identical 24-9 final score by each the Buccaneers and Panthers on the road.  Still, the Packers are allowing 157.8 yards rushing per game (5.2 ypc) and that will play right into the Falcons’ hands.  Michael Turner (422 yards rushing, 5.5 ypc) and Jerious Norwood (237 yards rushing, 7.0 ypc) will likely have big games against the Packers.  If the Falcons get the running game going, look for Matt Ryan to take some shots deep to WRs Roddy White and Michael Jenkins.  The Packers have 8 interceptions this season already so Ryan must be careful where he goes with the football.

Aaron Rodgers has a bum right shoulder and he will be a game time decision tomorrow.  The Packers can’t afford to be without Rodgers because rookies Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm to not appear ready for prime time quite yet.  Even if Rodgers does play the Packers will likely have to keep the passing game short so Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and James Jones will have to venture over the middle of the field.  The Packers might run the ball a lot more than usual with Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson against a Falcons’ defense that is allowing 131.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  GREEN BAY PACKERS 21, ATLANTA FALCONS 20

This should be a pretty good football game as the surprising Falcons and the Panthers are tied for first place in the NFC South with the Buccaneers.  The Falcons will try to do what they always want to and that’s to run the football against the Panthers.  The Falcons are averaging 203.0 yards rushing per game and 5.7 yards per carry so the Panthers will have their hands full trying to stop them.  But, the Panthers are only allowing 3.9 yards per carry this season so Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood will likely have to fight hard for every yard they get tomorrow.  Pressure seemed to give Matt Ryan trouble in the teams’ only loss against the Buccaneers so the Panthers will be blitzing a lot on passing downs in this game.  Julius Peppers could also have a big game against the Falcons if the Panthers stop the Falcons’ running game.

The Panthers also would like to run the football tomorrow with Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams against a Falcons’ defense that is allowing 136.7 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry.  But, the Panthers also want to get the ball to Steve Smith early in the game to soften up the Falcons’ run defense.  QB Jake Delhomme has been waiting to break out this season but this probably won’t be the game as the Falcons have played well against the pass.  The Panthers’ O-Line needs to improve the pass blocking as Delhomme has been sacked 9 times already this season and Falcons’ DE John Abraham already has six sacks this season as he appears to be a man on a mission.

PREDICTION:  CAROLINA PANTHERS 20, ATLANTA FALCONS 17