The Atlanta Falcons are 10-2, with two easy outs left against the 1-11 Carolina Panthers, who own the league's worst points differential. Count it? Not quite.
Though they have the NFL's worst offense by just about any metric -- seriously, try and find a stat besides rushing yards at which they rank better than 32nd -- they do have a middling defense that's a'ight against the run and forces turnovers. Carolina ranks seventh in takeaways led by Charles Godfrey's five picks.
But back to that offense. They've trotted out four different quarterbacks, all of them indistinguishably struggly. Rookie Jimmy Clausen has taken the bulk of snaps the past two weeks, so let's pencil his bitter little lemon face in as John Abraham's official target.
All season we've counted this one as an auto-W, but that check isn't gonna cash itself. Matt Ryan will have to have a good game under open skies, and Atlanta's pass rush will have to keep Clausen from having his first all-around strong performance. Falcons CB Brent Grimes should have a shot at collecting another interception, but Clausen actually hasn't thrown that many picks. His interception rate has been better than quite a few veteran starters.
More to come on this game throughout the week.