Atlanta Falcons Could Face Short-Handed Carolina Panthers in Week 3 Clash

The Atlanta Falcons are set to play the Carolina Panthers on the road in Week 3. It will be the second game of a 2-game road trip after a Week 2 Sunday Night clash with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Panthers may not be at full strength. Carolina’s second-round pick, edge rusher Nic Scourton, who was selected 51st overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, is likely to miss the Week 3 matchup. 

The rookie suffered an injury on Thursday during Carolina’s joint practice with the Houston Texans. The team at first thought the defender was suffering from heat exhaustion, but later that night, he was rushed to the hospital. He did not travel to Houston with the team this weekend.

"It was a very physical play," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. "It was presenting like a heat exhaustion, because he was having trouble breathing. He was getting tired and all that, so we kind of cooled him down. We couldn't get him to respond good enough to where we felt comfortable about putting him back into practice."

It was revealed Saturday that the injury was much more serious than previously thought, and that the rookie was dealing with a collapsed lung. 

“Panthers head coach Dave Canales said rookie pass rusher Nic Scourton suffered a collapsed lung during practice Thursday, and the injury is more serious than the team initially thought. Scourton now is expected to miss some time,” Adam Schefter reported on X. 

Scourton played at Purdue and Texas A&M throughout his collegiate career. During his three-year career, he recorded 17 sacks (including a 10-sack sophomore year in which he led the Big 10), 31 tackles for loss, and five passes defended. 

The rookie was performing well throughout camp and preseason up to the point of his injury. In Carolina’s first preseason matchup against the Cleveland Browns, Scourton was the team’s highest graded defender with a 91.8 PFF grade. He had one sack and one hurry in 16 snaps of play.

If Scourton is out, it would be a big loss for a Panthers team that struggled mightily to get to the quarterback last season. The Panthers were tied 30th in sacks in 2024, with 32. 

The Falcons are looking to bounce back against the Panthers after losing to them 44-38 in a game that went to overtime in the last game of the 2024 NFL season. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had the best game of his young career against the Panthers, recording over 300 total yards as well as three total touchdowns.

Carolina missing one of their best pass rushers in the Week 3 matchup would be a big loss in this early divisional game.