With shot at NFC South title, Falcons set for Panthers

Sunday's regular-season finale in Atlanta between the Falcons and Carolina Panthers will be do-or-die for the home team. Had Atlanta (8-8) held on to defeat the Washington Commanders last Sunday, the Falcons could have clinched their first NFC South crown since 2016 with a victory over Carolina (4-12). Instead, Atlanta will need a win on Sunday paired with a loss by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) to the New Orleans Saints (5-11). Before the season, the Falcons wouldn't have planned to rely on rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to lead them to the postseason. However, with the benching of struggling veteran Kirk Cousins, that's exactly how the final three weeks of the season have unfolded. In two games since Penix was thrust into the starting role, the eighth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has completed 37 of 62 passes for 425 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Penix's first-career touchdown pass came with 1:19 remaining in last week's 30-24 overtime loss at Washington, when he fired a perfect pass through traffic to tight end Kyle Pitts. Although Atlanta's quarterback play hasn't gone according to plan, Penix playing important January football looks to serve him well going forward. "We wanted him to be able to go through the process and learn behind Kirk," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said of Penix. "He did that for a long stretch and now his time has come. He's gone out there, executing and doing a really good job for us. The whole idea with him is just to keep getting better each week. His job is to go out and win football games. He won one of them and gave us a chance in the other. Now we're going to try and get our ninth win and finish the season strong." Atlanta can't afford to scoreboard watch against the Panthers, who recorded a 36-30 overtime victory to eliminate the Arizona Cardinals from playoff contention in Week 16. Last time out, Carolina fell 48-14 at Tampa Bay. In a battle between young quarterbacks, Bryce Young has thrown for four touchdowns and zero interceptions over the past two weeks for the Panthers. The 23-year-old is seeing Atlanta's defense for the first time, as he was playing behind Andy Dalton in the Panthers' 38-20 home loss to Atlanta on Oct. 13. "I have a lot of respect for (Atlanta) as a team and a defensive unit," Young said. "They have a lot of good players; they play well together. We've got to do everything we can to put ourselves in a position to execute. We know it's going to take everything to try and have success." In 13 games, Young has thrown for 2,152 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He's also added four scores on the ground. Carolina enters the game at less than full strength. Ruled out against Atlanta are linebackers Amare Barno (shoulder), DJ Johnson (personal reasons) and Josey Jewell (concussion), and defensive backs Jaycee Horn (hip) and Lonnie Johnson (shoulder/neck). Five Panthers also are listed as questionable: defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson (neck), offensive linemen Robert Hunt (knee) and Taylor Moton (ankle), wide receiver Xavier Legette (hip/wrist), and running back Miles Sanders (knee). For Atlanta, linebacker JD Bertrand (eye), wide receiver Darnell Mooney (shoulder) and defensive end Brandon Dorlus (abdomen) are questionable. --Field Level Media