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

The Panthers have lost rookie linebacker Dan Connor for the season due to a torn ACL.  Connor had 4 tackles this season for the Panthers.  The Panthers will miss Connor more on special teams than they will on defense but this really hurts the linebacker depth.

Jake Delhomme has looked a little rusty the last two weeks for the Panthers.  In his defense the Vikings and Bears are two very stout teams on the other side of the football.  He has also been sacked 9 times this season so the O-Line has to shoulder some of the load in Delhomme’s rough start.  Delhomme has completed 52 of 91 passes (57.1%) for 566 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (74.7 QB Rating).  Look for Delhomme to pick up the pace as the next five games are all against some of the softer defenses in the league.

The Panthers just couldn’t get anything going against the rugged defense of the Vikings last Sunday.  Jake Delhomme completed 17 of 29 passes for 191 yards in this game.  DeAngelo Williams only rushed for 27 yards on 10 carries (2.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Jonathan Stewart didn’t do any better against the Vikings as he carried the ball 7 times for 15 yards (2.1 ypc) with a TD run.  WR Steve Smith got into his first action of the season and he caught 4 passes for 70 yards (17.5 avg).  The Panthers finished up with 47 yards rushing on 20 carries (2.4 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 29 passes for 157 yards.

Linebackers Thomas Davis (8 tackles) and Jon Beason (7 tackles) led the way for the Panthers’ defense which had a so-so game.  The Vikings finished up with 119 yards on 32 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 28 passes for 186 yards.  The Panthers fell to 2-1 on the season after this loss.

These are two football teams going in opposite directions right now as the Panthers are 2-0 while the Vikings are 0-2.  This will be interesting to watch as the Panthers’ running game is working well (128.0 yards rushing per game, 4.3 ypc) but the Vikings have a great run defense (82.0 yards per game, 3.6 ypc).  With that in mind look for the Panthers to throw a lot on first down.  That could be a problem for the Vikings who are allowing 244.5 yards passing per game.  If Jake Delhomme has time to throw the Vikings will be in trouble because Steve Smith is officially back.  Mushin Muhammad, D.J. Hackett and TE Dante Rosario are all other decent weapons in the passing game for the Panthers.  Still, don’t expect an all-out passing attack out of the Panthers as they really like what RBs Jonathan Stewart (130 yards) and DeAngelo Williams (117 yards) are doing on the ground for them this season.

The Vikings finally woke up and benched Tarvaris Jackson who is an awful QB.  Even with an outstanding running game he still couldn’t throw the football.  With Adrian Peterson a little iffy for this game the Vikings might have to lean on Chester Taylor at RB.  He’s more than capable of having a big game if Peterson can’t go.  No matter which RB gets the football the Vikings should have some success on the ground as they are averaging 183.5 yards rushing per game and 5.4 ypc and that was with no threat of a passing game.  As soon as the Vikings establish the running game look for Gus Frerotte to run some play action passes and attempt to get the ball deep to speedster Bernard Berrian.

PREDICTION:  CAROLINA PANTHERS 20, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 17