Getty PJ Walker of the Carolina Panthers is sacked by Rashaan Evans of the Atlanta Falcons.
Get your popcorn ready––the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers dual it out again in Week 10 on Thursday Night Football.
In case you missed their first matchup of the 2022 season, the Falcons came up with a crazy Week 8 victory over the Panthers at home.
To sum it up, there were just 2:14 minutes left on the clock and the Falcons had a 31-28 lead. They were able to force a turnover and kick a field goal to make the lead a little bigger at 34–28.
By then, Carolina was left with just 36 seconds to come up with a scoring drive––and they did. The Panthers’ third-string quarterback P.J. Walker launched a rocket to wide receiver D.J. Moore, who had two guys covering him, for a 62-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Walker set the Panthers up to ultimately win the game. However, when Moore ripped his helmet off to celebrate, he drew a 15-yard penalty, making it tougher on kicker Eddy Piñeiro to make a field goal at the 48-yard line. Piñeiro missed it.
And then bam, over time.
Piñeiro also missed his kick at the 32-yard line in OT. However, Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo made his 41-yarder to seal a Falcons win.
Can Carolina get their revenge on Thursday? That is to be determined.
But they plan to give Walker a chance to redeem himself against Atlanta.
Panthers Keeping Baker Mayfield on the Bench
The Panthers will ride with Walker again in Week 10, keeping Baker Mayfield as his backup.
Interim head coach Steve Wilks made the decision earlier this week, following their 42-21 loss at Cincinnati where Walker was benched at the half with Carolina trailing 35-0.
The team also activated QB Sam Darnold (high ankle sprain) from injured reserve to the 53-man roster.
“I could bench everybody if we go off bad games,” Wilks said via ESPN. “We’re going to rally behind PJ and definitely give him the things he needs from a game-plan standpoint so he can execute.”
The Panthers have kept Baker on the bench since Week 6, after he suffered a high ankle sprain during a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Who knows what direction Carolina will go in once all three QBs are healthy again, but for now, it’s Walker’s time to shine, even if he did finish Week 9 completing 3 of 10 pass attempts for 9 yards with two interceptions.
“I would say trust the process,” Wilks said. “Trust my decision-making. That’s what I would tell them. We all have bad games. PJ wasn’t the only one.”
In Week 8’s outing against the Falcons, Walker completed 19 of 36 pass attempts for 316 yards and a touchdown.
Falcons Announce Injury Update
In other news, the Falcons will be without starting cornerback A.J. Terrell (hamstring) and safety Erik Harris (foot).
This week marks the third week that the Falcons are missing Terrell and a first for Harris this season.
With Harris ruled out, safety Jovanted Moffatt, who the Falcons signed to the active roster could be in for a larger role on Thursday. The Falcons have elevated Moffatt the last two weeks and must have been pleased with his overall performance in order to ink him to the 53-man lineup.
Before signing with the Falcons, Moffatt had 14 appearances over two years with the Cleveland Browns.