Falcons Avoid Christian McCaffrey, But Are Preparing For 'Hard to Stop' Panthers RB D'Onta Foreman

The Atlanta Falcons won't face Christian McCaffrey on Sunday. However, there is still a challenge with D'Onta Foreman in the Panthers backfield.

Jeremy Brener | Oct 27, 2022

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The Atlanta Falcons are preparing to face their in-division rival Carolina Panthers Sunday.

The Falcons may have been given a reprieve a week ago when the Panthers traded running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers, but that didn't stop Carolina from efficiently running the football in their first game without him.

The Panthers ran the ball for 173 yards on 27 carries in their win Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Out of those 173 yards, 118 of them came on the back of D'Onta Foreman, who spent training camp in 2021 with the Falcons.

"I know Foreman pretty well," Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said. " [I] coached him in Tennessee (and) we had him in camp here last year. He'll be ready to roll and he's a good back - when he gets into a rhythm, he can be hard to stop."

Foreman and the Panthers are hungry after essentially being written off for the season following the McCaffrey trade. However, if the Panthers win Sunday and if the Buccaneers lose to the Baltimore Ravens tonight on Thursday Night Football, Carolina will find itself at the top of the lowly NFC South halfway through the season.

In a game that could determine who leads the division, the Falcons cannot underestimate the Panthers, or they'll lose a very winnable game at home that could disrupt the momentum they've built over the past two months.

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Published Oct 27, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.