Falcons could catch several breaks in upcoming weeks

Coming off a convincing win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football, the vibes are high in Flowery Branch, but this difficult stretch to the season is only just beginning.

Atlanta faces Carolina, Washington, Buffalo, and San Francisco over the next five weeks. Two teams that made the playoffs a year ago, a road matchup across the country against the 49ers, and a divisional game with the Panthers. The Falcons must play their best football to keep up with the 2-0 Buccaneers in the NFC South race, but they are in line to potentially catch some huge breaks in their next two matchups.

The Falcons travel to Carolina for Week 3 in what should be a perfect opportunity for Atlanta’s defense to build some more momentum. Bryce Young has shown no signs of being a franchise quarterback, and the talent around him isn’t doing him any favors. The Panthers don’t have the kind of weapons that should strike fear into any defense.

But even more importantly, the Panthers offensive line is dismal, and they will be without two starters against the Falcons this Sunday. Austin Corbett and Robert Hunt were both placed on the injured reserve following the Panthers loss to the Cardinals. Atlanta’s pass rush has been among the best in football through two weeks, and their success rate has a chance to get even better this weekend.

Additionally, Falcons fans should be monitoring Jayden Daniels‘ injury very closely. He has a knee injury that has put his status for the Commanders Week 3 matchup with the Raiders into question. My guess is that he’s likely to play, but with Washington coming up on the Falcons’ schedule in Week 4, the Commanders injury report is something to keep an eye on throughout the week and next week as well.