The Atlanta Falcons are set to host the Carolina Panthers in a NFC South rivalry matchup on the NFL Week 1 schedule. The Falcons are looking to improve upon back to back 7-10 seasons in head coach Arthur Smith's third season on the job. Desmond Ridder enters the season as Atlanta's starting quarterback. The Panthers are also coming off a 7-10 season in 2022, but will have a new look under first year head coach Frank Reich. Rookie quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is set to make his first professional start for Carolina. 

Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Atlanta is a 3.5-point favorite and the over/under for total points scored is 40 in the latest Falcons vs. Panthers odds.

Before making any Falcons vs. Panthers picks of your own, you NEED to check out the NFL predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up more than $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters the 2023 NFL season on an incredible 163-113 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. It is also on a 17-6 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of last season.

The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94 percent of CBS Sports Football Pick'em players four times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is WAY UP.

Now, the model has set its sights on Panthers vs. Falcons. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread cashes in well over 50% of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any NFL picks.

Who wins Falcons vs. Panthers in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season? And which side of the spread cashes well over 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Panthers vs. Falcons spread is a MUST-BACK, all from the model on a 163-113 roll on NFL picks!