3 reasons the Carolina Panthers will beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6

Carolina Panthers defense will get more stops

As mentioned previously, it’s no secret that the Carolina Panthers have been abysmal on defense. However, it doesn’t help that they are dealing with a plethora of injuries on that side of the ball. 

The Panthers' defense allowed rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to have his best game as a professional, throwing for 304 passing yards and two touchdowns. It’s not going to get any easier this weekend as Kirk Cousins - the fifth-ranked passing yardage leader in the NFL - comes to town.

Cousins started the season a little slowly but has found his form. He's tallied 1,373 passing yards with eight touchdown passes and five interceptions through his opening five games after recovering from a torn Achilles. 

The Falcons' offensive line has done a fairly good job of keeping Cousins upright, conceding 10 sacks so far in 2024. Carolina's defense has produced only six sacks throughout the campaign, which ranks them tied for the second lowest in the NFL. The veteran signal-caller should have as much time as he needs to throw to the spots he’d like to. 

On the bright side for Panther fans, Cousins has averaged an interception each game so far. If the Panthers' defense can get that number to increase, they’ll be on track for a more successful outing at home. 

A bright spot from last week's loss to the Chicago Bears was that the Panthers' latest third-round draft pick, linebacker Trevin Wallace, got his first career start. He had a solid game, producing 15 tackles - 10 of them being solo efforts. Carolina would benefit from the former Kentucky star becoming an impact player for the remainder of the season. 

If the Panthers' defense can get off of the field more often in Week 6 at home, they should have a legitimate chance to win the game.