The Panthers are playing well lately as they have won two of their last three games.  The Texans are red hot right now as they have won seven games in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Panthers have the ball:  For some reason, the Panthers would rather throw the ball than give it to their best players on the ground.  The Panthers should run the ball against the Texans, who are giving up 91.5 yards rushing per game, but 4.1 yards per carry.  DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Cam Newton have a good shot to find running room this weekend.  Opposing QBs only have a 62.6 QB Rating against the Texans so far this year, and they already have 17 interceptions and 36 sacks.  Cam Newton is going to have to be careful throwing the ball this weekend as the Texans’ are likely going to double cover Steve Smith all day long.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans are a run first team.  They are going to give the ball to Arian Foster and Ben Tate a lot against a Panthers’ D that is allowing 128.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  The front seven are likely going to have fits trying to deal with the Texans’ RBs this Sunday.  Rookie QB T.J. Yates got the shot last week to win a game on the road and he was impressive against the Bengals.  The Panthers are going to have to get some pressure on Yates, and try to force him into making some mistakes.  TE Owen Daniels and WRs Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones give Yates some nice targets, but none of them really scare the Panthers much.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 20, PANTHERS 17

22-year old rookie QB Cam Newton is still playing at a very high level for the Panthers.  He has played in 13 games for the Panthers so far this year and he has completed 270 of 452 passes (59.7%) for 3,573 yards with 15 TD passes and 16 INTs (81.1 QB Rating).  Newton also has carried the ball 107 times for 554 yards (5.2 ypc) with an already NFL record 13 TD runs for a QB.  It’s scary to think how good Newton is going to be in the future as he learns from some mistakes he’s making this year.  It’s only a matter of time until the Panthers get back to the playoffs, as they need to rebuild on the D.

The Panthers have lost 25-year old linebacker Jason Phillips for the rest of the season due to a calf injury.  Phillips played in 4 games for the Panthers this year and he had 4 tackles.  Phillips has now played in 13 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 9 tackles.  It will be interesting to see if the Panthers bring back Phillips in 2012, as they are going to look to revamp on the defensive side of the football.

The Carolina Panthers had a 23-7 lead at the half, but they got scalded by the Falcons in the second half….costing them this game.  Cam Newton completed 19 of 39 passes for 276 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 36 yards (5.1 ypc) in this game.  DeAngelo Williams led the way on the ground for the Panthers in this game with 7 carries for 87 yards (12.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Jonathan Stewart pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 8 carries (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 27 yards (6.8 avg).  WR Steve Smith led the way for the Panthers in the passing game yesterday with 6 grabs for 125 yards (20.8 avg).  TEs Greg Olsen (2 rec, 53 yards, TD) and Jeremy Shockey (2 rec, 10 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Panthers in the passing game.  The Panthers finished up with 157 yards rushing on 23 carries (6.8 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 39 passes (48.7%) for 259 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:17.

LBs James Anderson (17 tackles, 1/2 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and Jordan Senn (8 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Panthers on D in this game.  DE Charles Johnson pitched in with 5 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 3 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits in this game.  The Falcons finished up with 86 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 38 passes (57.9%) for 308 yards.  The Panthers are now 4-9 on the year.

The Panthers have played really well the last two weeks, getting wins over the Colts and Buccaneers on the road.  The Falcons are coming off a tough loss last weekend in Houston, 17-10, which made this a very huge game for them.  The Falcons beat the Panthers earlier this year 31-17 in Atlanta.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Panthers are going to try to remain balanced this Sunday against the Falcons.  The Falcons are only giving up 90.0 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry, so they might be more pass heavy than they have been lately.  DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Cam Newton are going to have to fight for every yard they get this weekend.  The Falcons are giving up 230.5 yards passing per game so far this year, so look for Newton to throw the ball a lot in this game.  The Falcons will likely try to double WR Steve Smith all day long, but I don’t think that will scare the ultra confident Cam Newton.  He has a lot of other options to throw to as six players have at least 28 grabs this year for the Panthers, so look for him to spread the ball around a little bit.

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Falcons are likely going to try to give the rock to Michael Turner 20-25 times this Sunday in an effort to keep the clock running and the Panthers’ offense on the sideline.  The Panthers will have to slow down Turner if they want to win this Sunday.  The Panthers will also have to get after Matt Ryan, or they are going to be in some trouble.  Roddy White, Julio Jones, Harry Douglas and TE Tony Gonzalez gives Matt Ryan a lot of options when he drops back to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 30, PANTHERS 23

26-year old Dan Connor has not been much of a playmaker for the Panthers this year.  He has played in 11 games for the Panthers so far this year and he has 56 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  Connor has now played in 38 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 137 tackles, 1 sack, 9 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  Connor needs to get more aggressive, because he’s not helping the team much right now.

The Panthers have signed 25-year old DT Ogemdi Nwagbuo and 26-year old DT Jerry Shirley (off their practice squad).  Nwagbuo played in 4 games for the Chargers earlier this year and he had 3 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 31 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 41 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Jason Shirley’s only NFL experience came back in 2008 with the Bengals.  He played in 3 games that season for the Bengals and he had 4 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.

The Panthers have lost rookie DTs Sione Fua (hamstring) and Terrell McClain (knee) for the rest of the season.  Fua played in 12 games for the Panthers this year and he had 9 tackles.  McClain played in 12 games for the Panthers this year and he had 19 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 1 sack.  The Panthers took Fua & McClain in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  They were in line to see more P.T. the rest of the year, so this will hurt both of them.

23-year old DE Greg Hardy has been solid for the Panthers so far this year.  He has played in 12 games for the Panthers so far this year and he has 39 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 10 passes defensed.  Hardy has now played in 27 games in his first two years with the Panthers and he has 69 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 11 passes defensed and 6 tackles for a loss.  The Panthers hope that Hardy keeps improving with age, but he’s a pretty solid player already.

The Panthers took the fight to the Buccaneers yesterday, as they came out of Tampa with a very impressive win.  Cam Newton was all over the place in this game.  He completed 12 of 21 passes for 204 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 14 times for 54 yards (3.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he also caught 1 pass for 27 yards (from WR Legedu Naanee).  Jonathan Stewart led the way on the ground for the Panthers in this game with 80 yards rushing on 14 carries (5.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  DeAngelo Williams pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 11 carries (2.6 ypc) for the Panthers.  WRs Brandon LaFell (3 rec, 64 yards), Legedu Naanee (2 rec, 38 yards, TD) and Steve Smith (2 rec, 32 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Panthers yesterday.  The Panthers finished up with 163 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1%) for 222 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:41.

The defense was outstanding for the Panthers yesterday.  Safety Charles Godfrey led the way for the Panthers with 11 tackles yesterday.  LB Jordan Senn (7 tackles), CB Chris Gamble (6 tackles) and DE Thomas Keiser (interception) also had solid games for the Panthers in this game.  The Buccaneers finished up with 78 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 27 passes (59.3%) for 207 yards.  The Panthers are now 4-8 on the year.