The Panthers did improve their defense adding Vonn Bell and Justin Houston and switched to a 3-4. However, their offense is a little questionable with rookie QB Bryce Young and a few injuries at wide receivers with DJ Chark Jr. out and Adam Thielen questionable. It’s clear that the Falcons have more offensive fire power with rookie Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts looking for a bounce back year and Desmond Ridder coming into his first full season as the starter, but it may take some time to gel. Atlanta has more upside currently.

Pick your angle: Falcons beefing up their offense, Bryce Young making his first career start on the road, Desmond Riddler’s strong close to the 2022 season, beat-up Panthers receivers (D.J. Chark is out, Adam Thielen is active but hobbled), Frank Reich historically getting off to slow starts. There’s enough pointing to Atlanta being the right side here, and while the hook is tough to stomach given these teams put on a punt fest last season, Bijan Robinson should run through the Panthers in the second half to put this away.

The wait for this line to drop a tick was to no avail as it appears locked in at 3.5. That's acceptable in light of Carolina's Bryce Young starting. He might be a star in the making, but rookies have not won in their first start since David Carr 21 years and 15 games ago. Atlanta's already impressive ground game improved with the drafting of RB Bijan Robinson at a position that requires no learning curve. Panthers LB Brian Burns is iffy after avoiding practice all week over a contract tiff.

This rivalry is known for its recent history of wild and high-scoring games. Although both are in rebuilding mode with young QBs and should favor run-oriented attacks, there should still be more than enough firepower to send this Over the total.

Sanders goes from a crowded backfield on the Eagles to a leading role with the Panthers. They do have a capable backup in Chuba Hubbard behind him, but Sanders is going to see the bulk of the snaps at the position. Sanders has shown that he can be a valuable pass-catching option, like in his rookie season when he had 50 receptions for 509 yards. He has also averaged at least 4.9 yards per carry in each of the last three seasons. Give me the over here.

The Panthers played the Falcons twice in quick succession just after trading away Christian McCaffrey last year, and all D'Onta Foreman did in those games was run for 118 and 130 yards with P.J. Walker playing QB. Carolina's QB is much better this year, but its receiving corps isn't, especially with DJ Chark out and Adam Thielen questionable. Expect high volume in the running game again even after the coaching change thanks to the state of Carolina's receivers, and Miles Sanders is poised to be a clear bell-cow back in this system. Get the 55.5 at FanDuel now but I'd play the Over up to 64.5.

No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young is going to be great eventually, but this is a tough spot to make his debut. Atlanta's defense has improved, the dome will be loud, and Young's receiving corps is not super-talented or healthy. Both teams will run the ball often, leading to fewer pass attempts.

The Falcons drafted Bijan Robinson 8th overall and the rookie is set to make his NFL debut on Sunday. Atlanta boasted one of the most run heavy offenses in the league last season and this was before adding arguably the best RB prospect since Adrian Peterson. The Falcons finished last season ranked 5th in EPA Per Rush, 3rd in Rush Success %, 6th in Run Grade, and 1st in Run Block Grade. I am speculating a bit that Arthur Smith will give Bijan the majority of the backfield touches but it would be shocking if Bijan didnt handle at least 15 totes with the way Atlanta plays.

Will update analysis shortly.

This seems awfully cheap after Sanders had 11 TDs last year in Philly. He's the clear No. 1/goal-line back with Carolina (had a groin injury early in camp but is not on the injury report), and I expect the Cats to run all day because Bryce Young is making his NFL debut and likely will be without top wideouts DJ Chark and Adam Thielen. Sanders probably gets a few more pass targets because of that, although he hasn't had a receiving TD since his rookie year.

The NFC South will come down to the Saints and the Falcons and it will take some time for Bryce Young and the Panthers to catch up. The Panthers have a solid defense, but it's going to be hard to stop the extremely efficient rushing attack of Atlanta led by Bijan Robinson. Add to that Carolina is trotting out a rookie QB beset with injuries at the skill position groups and is up against a defense that made plenty of additions in the off-season. This is a great mix for a home team cover.

Wish I had gotten this at Falcons -2.5 -- it's currently priced -145 at that number at DraftKings. Carolina's offensive line looked horrendous for much of this preseason, so it could be a long first year for No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young; a few of his wideouts are banged up as well. Since 1970, rookie No. 1 overall QBs are 3-13-1 in their 1st career start in Week 1 and have lost their past eight.