Falcons take 10-7 lead into halftime

The Falcons and Saints are engaged in something of a proxy war in Atlanta on Sunday as their result matters much more to the Panthers and Buccaneers than it does to the teams on the field.

Carolina's side holds a slim lead after 30 minutes of play. The Falcons got a touchdown catch by Drake London to open the scoring and built a 10-0 lead before Saints quarterback Tyler Shough continued his strong rookie season with a touchdown run in the second quarter. That made it 10-7 and that's the way things remain at halftime.

Advertisement

If the Falcons hold onto their lead, the Panthers will be the NFC South champs despite losing to the Bucs on Saturday afternoon.

Shough is 13-of-18 for 143 yards despite playing without top wideout Chris Olave. His touchdown run has been the only positive on the ground for the offense thus far and the Falcons haven't been able to do much on that front either. Bijan Robinson has nine carries for 28 yards and hasn't been able to recapture the magic he found against the Rams in Week 17.

The Falcons started two drives in Saints territory. The first came thanks to a Juwan Johnson fumble, but Kirk Cousins was intercepted to end that drive. London's touchdown came after a blocked punt and the Panthers will be hoping the bounces continue to go Atlanta's way for the rest of the afternoon.