# Week 18, 2026: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers Jan 10, 2027 · not played yet · 0 calls on record No pundit we track has picked a side in Falcons vs Panthers yet. Page: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-18-falcons-at-panthers ## How they come in The Falcons are 2-2 and have won 2 straight; the Panthers are 2-2. The Panthers beat the Falcons 34-3 when they met in Week 2. On win totals, 9 pundits put the Falcons at 6.1 wins on average, and 12 pundits put the Panthers at 7.4 wins on average. Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina - Atlanta Falcons: 2-2, won 2 straight (96 scored, 92 allowed) - Last games: W 45-24 at Saints; W 35-14 at Packers; L 3-34 vs Panthers - Unit ranks this season: offense 10th, defense 5th of 32 - Last season: 8-9 - Win-total calls: 9 pundits, average 6.1, 2 to 9 wins - The side most pundits took won 3 of 4 Falcons games - Carolina Panthers: 2-2 (121 scored, 109 allowed) - Last games: W 32-26 vs Lions; L 18-21 at Browns; W 34-3 at Falcons - Unit ranks this season: offense 7th, defense 29th of 32 - Last season: 8-9 - Win-total calls: 13 pundits, average 7.4, 2 to 17 wins - The side most pundits took won 2 of 4 Panthers games ## Players to watch Each club's starting quarterback, leading rusher, receiver and tight end, and its sack and tackle leaders, with their 2026 regular season so far, with the latest call on each from a pundit ranked on the leaderboard whose record beats the naive pick, made since the 2026 schedule came out ("No." is that rank). Leaderboard: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/leaderboard - [Michael Penix Jr.](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/michael-penix-jr) (Starting QB, QB): 479 passing yards · 2 TD, 1 INT · 73.3% completions · 2 games; 28th in the NFL in passing yards - No. 3 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 21, 2026: Michael Penix Jr. to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - No. 11 Bucky Brooks, Sep 23, 2026: After 10 months of rehab from a season-ending knee injury suffered in Week 11 of his sophomore season, Michael Penix Jr. will finally have a chance to showcase his talents in Kevin Stefanski’s offense on Thursday against the Packers. (not settled yet) - [Bijan Robinson](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bijan-robinson) (RB1, RB): 494 rushing yards on 85 carries · 5 TD · 14 catches for 120 · 4 games; 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards - No. 6 Bryan DeArdo, Oct 10, 2026: Bijan Robinson to record 1,361 rushing yards (not settled yet) - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 7, 2026: Bijan Robinson to finish top 2 at his position, by fantasy points (not settled yet) - [Drake London](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/drake-london) (WR1, WR): 20 catches for 370 yards · 0 TD · 4 games; 7th in the NFL in receiving yards - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 26, 2026: Drake London to finish top ? at his position, by fantasy points (not settled yet) - No. 24 Andrew Erickson, Sep 16, 2026: Drake London to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - [Kyle Pitts](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kyle-pitts) (TE1, TE): 5 catches for 67 yards · 0 TD · 4 games; 149th in the NFL in receiving yards - No. 3 Pat Fitzmaurice, Sep 5, 2026: Kyle Pitts to be 2nd on the depth chart (not settled yet) - [Za'Darius Smith](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/za-darius-smith) (Sack leader, DE): 2.5 sacks · 3 solo tackles · 3 games; 21st in the NFL in sacks - C.J. Henderson (Tackle leader, CB): 22 solo tackles · 4 games; 5th in the NFL in solo tackles - [Bryce Young](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bryce-young) (Starting QB, QB): 1,268 passing yards · 9 TD, 2 INT · 62.3% completions · 4 games; 2nd in the NFL in passing yards - No. 5 Tom Pelissero, Jul 17, 2026: Bryce Young: a roster call with no direction stated (not settled yet) - No. 19 Rich Eisen, Oct 5, 2026: Bryce Young to sign a new deal (not settled yet) - [Chuba Hubbard](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/chuba-hubbard) (RB1, RB): 306 rushing yards on 61 carries · 5 TD · 10 catches for 84 · 4 games; 11th in the NFL in rushing yards - No. 3 Pat Fitzmaurice, Aug 20, 2026: Chuba Hubbard to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 17, 2026: Chuba Hubbard to be 1st on the depth chart (not settled yet) - [Tetairoa McMillan](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tetairoa-mcmillan) (WR1, WR): 26 catches for 385 yards · 2 TD · 4 games; 6th in the NFL in receiving yards - No. 3 Pat Fitzmaurice, Aug 8, 2026: Tetairoa McMillan to outplay his draft cost (Round 3) (not settled yet) - No. 8 Derek Brown, Sep 1, 2026: Tetairoa McMillan to fall short of his draft cost (a top 20 wide receiver price tag) (not settled yet) - [Darren Waller](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/darren-waller) (TE1, TE): 13 catches for 148 yards · 2 TD · 4 games; 77th in the NFL in receiving yards - [Princely Umanmielen](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/princely-umanmielen) (Sack leader, LB): 3 sacks · 8 solo tackles · 4 games; 9th in the NFL in sacks - [Devin Lloyd](https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/devin-lloyd) (Tackle leader, LB): 1 sack · 20 solo tackles · 2 interceptions · 3 games; 12th in the NFL in solo tackles - No. 6 Bryan DeArdo, Sep 23, 2026: Devin Lloyd to win Defensive Player of the Year (not settled yet) --- The room is counted in pundits, each one's latest call standing. Accuracy is out of 100; the naive pick is the home team. The week: https://missedtakes.co/nfl/games/2026-week-18 Method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology