Panthers vs. Falcons Betting Line - Must Win for Atlanta

There is still plenty to play for when it comes to the Carolina Panthers even though they are already in the Playoffs.  Atlanta simply needs to win if they wish to clinch that final NFC Wildcard spot.  The Falcons are listed as a -4 favorite here after opening at -3.  Carolina was seeing around 85% of the betting action ahead of Sunday's late afternoon game.  The books have done little to encourage more action on the Falcons, thus suggesting Carolina should be able to cover handily here (at least that's what the bookies mindset appears to be).

A look at the most recent history below we see that Atlanta shut out a Carolina team suffering from its Super Bowl hangover last year.  Prior to that period, whereby Atlanta made its own Super Bowl appearance to close out last season, one can argue that Carolina was more dominant in this series.

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There is another scenario much less likely that can get Atlanta into the post season.  Seattle loses at home to Arizona, a team that has nothing more to play for than pride.  Then again, Seattle has failed to beat the Cardinals at home on three of the last four occasions so that Atlanta still has a shot at the post season even with a loss.

The Panthers have won seven of their last eight games while Atlanta has won five of their last seven but failed to step up in New Orleans last week.  Ironically both these teams have registered losses in New Orleans as part of the aforementioned time spans.

- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com