Panthers–Falcons NFC South Rivalry

Lore & Background

The rivalry began in 1995 when the Panthers joined as an expansion team. The two teams have been in the same division since the Panthers joined the league, and thus play each other twice a year. For their first seven years, the Panthers were alongside the Falcons in the NFC West. In 2002, both teams would be put in the newly established NFC South. It is known as the 'I-85 rivalry' due to Atlanta and Charlotte being only four hours apart on Interstate 85. Games between the two teams feature large contingents of visiting fans in both cities. The Falcons lead the overall series, 37–25. The two teams have not met in the playoffs.

In Their Own Story

The November night air over Charlotte hung thick with October chill, the kind that made the blue and black of the Panthers' away jerseys look almost like storm clouds rolling over the stadium. Two fans stood at the 50-yard line in the upper deck, a Pepsi can sweating in one hand, the other gripping a faded 2003 jersey—Peppers, number 54—bought at a swap meet in '04. Below them, the Falcons' red helmets caught the floodlights like embers. The crowd noise was a single, low roar, the Carolina horn punctuating every third-and-long. A young kid in a Falcons cap three rows down shouted something about 'Atlanta's the capital,' and the older fan just smiled, sipped his beer, and whispered, 'We'll see, son. We'll see.' The ball snapped. The play developed. And for eight minutes, the whole Southeast held its breath.

Reader's Guide

Carolina's first ever regular season game was a tightly contested 23–20 overtime loss to the Falcons on September 3, 1995. Later that season, Carolina defeated Atlanta 21–17 for their seventh win of the year. Carolina faced Atlanta in the first regular season game played at Ericsson Stadium (now Bank of America Stadium) in 1996, which the Panthers won. Carolina won at home against the Falcons in each of its first three years as a franchise, carrying a 4–2 mark over Atlanta before the Falcons evened the series to 5–5 by the end of the 1990s. In 2002, the Falcons and Panthers were moved to the NFC South along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. By the end of the 2004 season, Atlanta had won 9 of 10 meetings in the decade, with Carolina's only win coming during the year of its Super Bowl appearance in 2003. A notable game occurred in 2004, when the Falcons came back to beat the Panthers with a Michael Vick rushing touchdown followed by an interception of Jake Delhomme by the Falcons defense to set up the game-winning field goal. By 2007, the Panthers made it more even, sweeping the Falcons for the first time since 1997 in 2005, but were still 2–6 at home against Atlanta. Overall, the Falcons won 13 of 20 games in the series during the 2000s. During the last week of the 2014 season, the Panthers and Falcons faced each other in a must-win game for the NFC South division title and playoff berth. Despite Atlanta winning earlier in the season, Carolina handily won this game 34–3, becoming just the second team in NFL history to clinch a division title with a losing record at 7–8–1. In week 16 of the 2015 season, the Panthers came into Atlanta with a perfect 14–0 record as opposed to the Falcons' 7–7 record. The Falcons, however, shocked the Panthers and beat them with a final score of 20–13.

Did You Know?

• The rivalry is also called the I-85 rivalry because Atlanta and Charlotte are only four hours apart on Interstate 85.
• Carolina's first ever regular season game was a 23–20 overtime loss to the Falcons on September 3, 1995.
• The Falcons lead the overall series 37–25, and the two teams have never met in the playoffs.