Falcons RTs Todd Weiner and Barry Stokes vs. Panthers LDE Julius Peppers. Even though Alge Crumpler's cut block four weeks ago knocked out Peppers for a lot of the first half, he ultimately dominated this matchup and embarrassed Weiner on a fourth-quarter sack. Weiner has played most of the past three months with wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries. Against Peppers, Atlanta had better make use of Stokes, who is healthy.
--Falcons MLB Keith Brooking vs. Panthers C Jeff Mitchell. The Falcons must prove they can find a weak point of a Carolina line that manhandled them earlier this month. With Chad Lavalais, Rod Coleman and Darrell Shropshire bringing steady pressure against Mitchell, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell also can confuse the Panthers by bringing heat with Brooking or by dropping him into coverage more than usual. Brooking's four interceptions are no fluke.
DE Brady Smith, CB Allen Rossum and NT Antwan Lake are finally on injured reserve, but the Falcons have had to compensate for the loss of Smith since Week 9, Rossum since Week 13 and Lake since Week 14. The biggest challenges will be how Gs Ben Claxton and Austin King fare against Brentson Buckner and Jordan Carstens, both of whom crave a rare win in Atlanta.