The stars must have aligned when the NFL was building out our schedule this year. Playing the black cats on Halloween. Spooky stuff. All jokes aside Sunday is a chance for the Falcons to change everyone's perspective on what this team is capable of. A 4-3 record would put us firmly in the Wild Card conversation, a position few thought possible after a blowout to the Eagles in Week One.
The Falcons have owned this division rivalry of late, winning nine of the last 11 games. Lately these two teams are trending in vastly different directions. The Falcons, who started the season 0-2 have now won three of their last four. While the Panthers who came out of the gates running with a blistering 3-0 start, have dropped four in a row. Unsurprisingly those four losses coincide with Panthers star Christian McCaffrey going down with a hamstring injury, who will remain out on Sunday.
On the Falcons side things the numbers and accolades seem to be piling up this week. Deion Jones was named the defensive player of the week following his 15 tackle (11 solo tackle), three tackles for a loss, and a sack performance in Miami. Kyle Pitts had a career game tallying 163 yards, making him the only tight end in the last 50 years to have back-to-back 100-yard games. Meanwhile Matt Ryan put up his third 300-yard, two touchdown game of the season. With those numbers it's not surprising Arthur Smith referred to Ryan as "criminally underrated."
With all of that in mind there are plenty of ways to take in Sunday's Halloween match up.
HOW TO WATCH
What: Atlanta Falcons (3-3) vs. Carolina Panthers (3-4)
When: Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin
Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app.
Streaming outside the market: Watch live out-of-market preseason games and replay every game of the season with NFL Game Pass.
Radio: 92.9-FM The Game; La Mejor [español]; Those with SiriusXM Radio can find games here.
Weather forecast
Skies: Mostly Sunny
High/low: 64 degrees/44 degrees
Rain: 8 percent chance
Humidity: 71 percent
Moon: Waining Crescent*
*We leave no stone unturned here at AtlantaFalcons.com
Broadcast Map
Below is the broadcast map for all NFL on Fox early Sunday games for Week Eight (courtesy of 506 Sports):
