The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the harder teams to predict week in and week out. They flipped the script the first-two weeks of the season by losing at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers then winning on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles.
With each of their five games coming down to the final possession, it's easy to say they've been one of the more entertaining teams of the year, if not the most predictable.
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ESPN's panelist of prognosticators: Senior NFL writer Kalyn Kahler, fantasy analyst Eric Moody, and analytics writer Seth Walder think this week's game against the Carolina Panthers may be a bit more straight forward.
Each of them has picked the Atlanta Falcons to beat the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday afternoon.
Kahler and Moody are 2-2 predicting Falcons games. They missed the first two, and called the Chiefs and Saints games correctly. Walder is 1-3; the difference being he had the Saints beating the Falcons 29-20.
There were no predictions from this group for the Falcons vs. Buccaneers, because their weekly picks were published on Friday, after the Falcons beat the Bucs.
Walder is hopping on the Bijan Robinson bandwagon this week. Carolina's run defense has been poor this season, and with quarterback Kirk Cousins pressuring the back end of the defense, Robinson should have much more room to run.
"Bijan Robinson will be the highest scoring fantasy running back in Week 6, with an impact in both the run and pass game. The Panthers' defense is the cure to all woes," wrote Walder as this game's bold prediction.
Walder was in lockstep with ESPN colleague Dan Graziano. Earlier this week, Graziano gave his fantasy football tip of the week, and he also tabbed Robinson to have a big game.
"Don't give up on Bijan Robinson," Graziano pleaded on ESPN+. "Don't bench him. Don't trade him away. I get it. I feel your pain. I'm living it with you. But (A) the Falcons running back has been fine, even though you drafted him for more than fine, and (B) he's playing the Panthers this week. Carolina is giving up the second-most fantasy points per game to running backs this season."
ESPN has made the Falcons a six-point road favorite in a building that has seen some of Atlanta's worst moments the last two seasons. The Falcons have been walking the edge of wins and losses all season. Detractors have been saying the Atlanta could easily be 0-5 this year. Well, they're probably two plays away from being 5-0, so 3-2 sounds about right.
This game against the Panthers doesn't need the drama. Carolina is in turmoil right now. They have an identity crisis starting with ownership and have been ravaged by injuries. Weather shouldn't be a factor on a gorgeous fall afternoon.
