Carolina Panthers: All Time Rivalries
1. Atlanta Falcons
Dec 28, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback
Matt Ryan(2) throws incomplete after being hit by Carolina Panthers defensive end
Charles Johnson(95) during the second quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Series Record: 16-24
Key Panthers Win: 2014
87. Final. 3. 44. 34
The neighbor down I-85 is the one team on this list that the Panthers do not have a winning record against. The reasons can be linked to quarterback play. The Falcons owned the series when Michael Vick was his prime, sometimes finding impossible ways to beat the Panthers. Vick was doing this when the John Fox teams were at their best too. It was incredibly frustrating.
Matt Ryan owns a five game win streak against the team that ended a couple of years ago. The Falcons are always around it seems and always competitive with the Panthers regardless of record. The series has personal rivalries too. There was Steve Smith vs DeAngelo Hall for a few years.
The first game in 1995 tells the story of much of the series. That game went down to the final gun and then into overtime. The Falcons won, but the Panthers had shown they were here to do more than show up as an expansion team.
Both teams turned in bad 2014 seasons, but the division was so bad that both were still in contention for the playoff berth for winning the NFC South. The Panthers went on a remarkable streak, but it all could have ended in Atlanta where the Panthers had suffered reverses before. Not this time, the Panthers took care of business and held off the Falcons and Saints for that final playoff berth.