The Atlanta Falcon's second-half implosion against the Green Bay Packers last weekend didn't amuse oddsmakers, who left them as small 4-point home chalk against the visiting Carolina Panthers on the Week 6 NFL odds menu, according to our partner Odds Shark.
Sunday's game will be decided by quarterback play. Matt Ryan has under-performed expectations in 2011 as he's thrown 7 touchdowns to 6 interceptions, while Panthers' QB Cam Newton has vastly exceeded them as a rookie, throwing for the same number of scores and picks as Ryan. Ultimately I think the Falcons win, but it's going to be close, so I would take the Panthers plus the points.
When it comes to over/under we're looking at a line of 51 points. Neither the Falcons nor the Panthers have any problems scoring in bunches, and both have suspect pass defenses; as such I'm taking the over all day long. Atlanta are able to put up a lot of points in the Georgia Dome, and the Panthers are averaging 25 points when there are no weather conditions.
This really is a tale of two cities, where in Atlanta their team really shouldn't be 2-3 as some critical execution errors have prevented them from winning games, and in Charlotte where the Panthers are better than their 1-4 record suggests.
For more on the opening lines, head over to Odds Shark. Be sure to check out the Falcons coverage at The Falcoholic, and the Panthers at Cat Scratch Reader.