The Carolina Panthers punched their postseason ticket a week ago but still have much to fight for in their NFL week 17 football game against southeast rival Atlanta Falcons. Carolina still has a shot at the NFC top seed when we watch Panthers vs Falcons online free live streaming on Fox.
Last week the Panthers (11-4) faced their NFC South rival New Orleans Saints and disposed of them at home by a score of 17-13. That win clinched a playoff berth and kicked off a locker room celebration with champagne. It also put the Panthers in a position to climb the NFC ranks with a win against a much improved Falcons team that gave the 49ers a run for their money on MNF less than a week ago.
A win by the Panthers against the Falcons will automatically clinch the NFC South and a first-round bye for a team and city that hasn’t tasted the postseason in five years. However, a win couple with wins by the 49ers over the Cardinals and Rams over the Seahawks would grab the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs for the Panthers, keeping in mind the Rams are playing in Seattle.
Carolina needs a good offensive showing after being shut down by the Saints for most of last week’s game. With Steve Smith sitting out due to injury and Cam Newton battling a sore ankle, the Panthers offense was anemic until late in the game when it needed to come to life just enough to win the game on the final possession. Watch Falcons vs Panthers online free live streaming on Fox today to see if Newton gets his offense in rhythm early and often.
The Falcons (4-11) season was over long ago, but they’ve showed signs of life in the past few weeks and put up a valiant effort against the 49ers on Monday Night Football. Down double-digits with little time left on the clock, Matt Ryan led a comeback drive that scored a touchdown. Then Atlanta recovered the onside kick and got to San Francisco’s 10-yard line before Ryan was picked off for a 90-yard touchdown return.
Ryan will be called upon often against the Panthers as Carolina has the league’s second best defense against the run and the Falcons are dead last in the NFL at running the ball with 78.1 yards per game. Ryan can certainly move the chains, but the 16 interceptions he has thrown his year have been costly. The Falcons were supposed to make a Super Bowl run, but instead today’s game may be the last for tight end Tony Gonzalez.
Today’s Carolina Panthers vs Atlanta Falcons NFL week 17 football game will start at 1pm EST / 10am PST and can be found on TV by tuning into Fox. Check your local listings to find the Fox channel number where you live to watch Panthers vs Falcons game on TV in pleasing high definition (HD).
An alternative to watching the game on TV is to watch Panthers vs Falcons online live streaming here on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. Anyone with an active subscription to the service can soak up streaming Fox NFL football games on numerous mobile devices including phones, iPads and more, and a pro-rated option is available for this final week of regular season NFL football.
