Carolina Panthers vs Atlanta Falcons

Final

NFL

CAR Team page

34 — 3

ATL Team page

DateSeptember 20, 2026

VenueMercedes-Benz Stadium

CAR 45%

ATL 46%

Tie 9%

Atlanta gets only a narrow lean in a difficult, closely balanced matchup. Carolina’s offense opened the regular season with 361 passing yards, 37 points and strong efficiency, giving Bryce Young and the Panthers a clear path to move the ball. However, Carolina’s defense allowed 59 points and 291 rushing yards in that same game, a major concern against an Atlanta team playing at home. The Falcons’ offense was limited to 13 points and 143 passing yards in Week 1, but their defense held Pittsburgh to 2.8 yards per rush and 20 total points. Atlanta’s home setting and the possibility of Carolina’s defensive problems resurfacing slightly outweigh the Panthers’ offensive upside, but neither side has established enough separation for a confident team pick.

Team Form

Last 5 · latest first

Carolina Panthers

Atlanta Falcons

Key Stats

2026 season · Team stats

Carolina Panthers

37.0

PTS/G

486.0

TOTAL YDS/G

361.0

PASS YDS/G

125.0

RUSH YDS/G

44.44

3RD DOWN %

-2

TURNOVER DIFF

100.00

RZ TD%

DEF SACKS

Atlanta Falcons

13.0

PTS/G

263.0

TOTAL YDS/G

143.0

PASS YDS/G

120.0

RUSH YDS/G

16.67

3RD DOWN %

-1

TURNOVER DIFF

0.00

RZ TD%

DEF SACKS

Key Players

Carolina Panthers

138Rec. Yards

Atlanta Falcons

143Pass Yards

263Rec. Yards

Boxscore

Scoring by period

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
CAR	10	10	14	0	34
ATL	0	3	0	0	3

Team stats

CAR Stat ATL

18 1st Downs 17

12 Passing 1st downs 10

5 Rushing 1st downs 7

1 1st downs from penalties 0

6-14 3rd down efficiency 4-13

1-2 4th down efficiency 1-2

60 Total Plays 67

340 Total Yards 286

5.7 Yards per Play 4.3

11 Total Drives 12

272 Passing 129

23/36 Comp/Att 18/32

7.2 Yards per pass 3.7

0 Interceptions thrown 3

2-15 Sacks-Yards Lost 3-16

68 Rushing 157

22 Rushing Attempts 32

3.1 Yards per rush 4.9

3-6 Red Zone (Made-Att) 0-0

9-63 Penalties 6-39

0 Turnovers 5

0 Fumbles lost 2

1 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0

29:31 Possession 30:29

CAR

Carolina Panthers

Defensive

Carolina Panthers Defensive
Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HTS	TD
Devin Lloyd	9	7	1	2	3	1	1
Bobby Okereke	9	6	0	0	1	1	0
Aaron Hall	6	1	0	0	0	1	0
Zakee Wheatley	5	4	0	0	0	0	0
Tre'von Moehrig	5	3	0	0	0	0	0
Jeremiah Moon	4	3	0	0	1	0	0
Lathan Ransom	4	2	0	0	0	0	0
Akayleb Evans	3	2	0	0	0	0	0
Mike Jackson	3	1	0	0	0	0	0
TeRah Edwards	3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Cam Jackson	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Jaelan Phillips	2	1	1	1	0	2	0
Princely Umanmielen	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Thomas Incoom	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Will Lee III	2	1	0	0	2	0	0
Derrick Brown	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nick Scott	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Feleipe Franks	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
AJ Dillon	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Brycen Tremayne	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jaycee Horn	1	1	0	0	2	0	0
Trevis Gipson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Carolina Panthers Fumbles
Player	FUM	REC
Tommy Tremble	1	1
Nick Scott	0	1
Aaron Hall	0	1

Interceptions

Carolina Panthers Interceptions
Player	INT	YDS	TD
Devin Lloyd	2	69	1
Bobby Okereke	1	3	0

Kicking

Carolina Panthers Kicking
Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Ryan Fitzgerald	2/2	100.0	37	4/4	10

Kick Returns

Carolina Panthers Kick Returns
Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
John Metchie III	2	53	26.5	27	0

Passing

Carolina Panthers Passing
Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	RTG
Bryce Young	23/36	287	8.0	3	0	2-15	116.3

Punting

Carolina Panthers Punting
Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Sam Martin	4	193	48.3	0	3	54

Punt Returns

Carolina Panthers Punt Returns
Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jalen Coker	2	49	24.5	36	0

Receiving

Carolina Panthers Receiving
Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Tetairoa McMillan	5	101	20.2	0	28	10
Jalen Coker	8	66	8.3	0	25	9
Xavier Legette	2	64	32.0	0	55	4
Darren Waller	3	33	11.0	2	14	3
Mitchell Evans	1	13	13.0	0	13	1
Chuba Hubbard	2	11	5.5	1	8	2
Tommy Tremble	1	4	4.0	0	4	2
Jonathon Brooks	1	-5	-5.0	0	-5	1

Rushing

Carolina Panthers Rushing
Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Chuba Hubbard	12	53	4.4	12
Jonathon Brooks	5	16	3.2	7
Bryce Young	1	6	6.0	6
AJ Dillon	3	-3	-1.0	1
Kenny Pickett	1	-4	-4.0	-4

ATL

Atlanta Falcons

Defensive

Atlanta Falcons Defensive
Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HTS
Xavier Watts	7	6	0	0	0	0
Jessie Bates III	6	4	0	0	0	0
Mike Hughes	5	2	0	0	0	0
C.J. Henderson	4	4	0	1	1	0
Cameron Thomas	4	3	0.5	0	0	2
LaCale London	4	2	0	0	0	0
Kendal Daniels	3	3	0	1	0	0
Sydney Brown	3	2	0	0	0	0
Maason Smith	3	0	0	0	0	0
Yasir Abdullah	2	2	0	0	0	0
Za'Darius Smith	2	1	0.5	1	1	1
Divine Deablo	2	1	0	0	0	1
Zach Harrison	2	1	0	0	0	0
Drake London	2	1	0	0	0	0
Samson Ebukam	2	0	0.5	0	0	2
Gervon Dexter Sr.	2	0	0.5	0	1	1
A.J. Terrell Jr.	1	1	0	0	1	0
Christian Harris	1	1	0	0	0	0
Avieon Terrell	1	1	0	0	0	0
Josh Woods	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jake Bailey	1	0	0	0	0	0
Charlie Woerner	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kyle Pitts Sr.	1	0	0	0	0	0
Brandon Dorlus	1	0	0	0	0	1
Harold Perkins Jr.	1	0	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Atlanta Falcons Fumbles
Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Cooper Rush	1	1	0
Jack Strand	1	1	0

Kicking

Atlanta Falcons Kicking
Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Nick Folk	1/2	50.0	41	0/0	3

Kick Returns

Atlanta Falcons Kick Returns
Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Olamide Zaccheaus	4	79	19.8	25	0

Passing

Atlanta Falcons Passing
Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	SACKS	RTG
Cooper Rush	10/17	86	5.1	0	2	1-3	32.6
Jack Strand	8/15	59	3.9	0	1	2-13	35.1

Punting

Atlanta Falcons Punting
Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jake Bailey	3	151	50.3	0	1	62

Punt Returns

Atlanta Falcons Punt Returns
Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Zachariah Branch	1	7	7.0	7	0

Receiving

Atlanta Falcons Receiving
Player	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG	TGTS
Drake London	4	51	12.8	17	5
Austin Hooper	2	20	10.0	13	4
Brian Robinson Jr.	2	16	8.0	12	2
Kyle Pitts Sr.	1	15	15.0	15	3
Zachariah Branch	2	14	7.0	11	2
Jahan Dotson	2	11	5.5	8	4
Bijan Robinson	3	9	3.0	4	4
Chris Blair	1	6	6.0	6	3
Olamide Zaccheaus	1	3	3.0	3	3
Charlie Woerner	0	0	0.0	0	1

Rushing

Atlanta Falcons Rushing
Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Bijan Robinson	16	72	4.5	11
Brian Robinson Jr.	11	51	4.6	9
Cooper Rush	2	20	10.0	11
Jack Strand	2	16	8.0	8
Drake London	1	-2	-2.0	-2