The Cam Newton show in Carolina continues with the rookie quarterback looking to record his second win of his NFL career when the Panthers head to the Georgia Dome to take on the division rival Atlanta Falcons. Even though the Carolina Panthers have only won one game this season, this team has a new sense of purpose with rookie quarterback Cam Newton under center with the former Heisman trophy winner playing much better than anticipated in his first season on the NFL level.

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With 1,770 total yards (1,610 passing, 160 rushing) and 12 total touchdowns (7 passing, 5 rushing), Cam Newton is shattering rookie records with every passing week and making a lot of NFL scouts wonder why they ever doubted the BCS champion out of Auburn. At this point in time, Newton is has proved that he is the next superstar quarterback in this league, but he needs to close out games as the Carolina Panthers have come close to winning football games and just can’t seem to get the job done in the fourth quarter.

Carolina Panthers Cam Newton

Last week the Carolina Panthers came just three points shy of tying the division rival New Orleans Saints in the fourth quarter. With a win over the Saints, the Panthers would’ve been able to make a run for the NFC South division title this season with Drew Brees and company being in first place in the division.

In Week 6, the Carolina Panthers and rookie phenom Cam Newton will face off against another division rival in the form of the Atlanta Falcons. Even though the Falcons haven’t been able to live up to expectations this season with a 2-3 record coming into Week 6, Atlanta is still a very talented football team on both sides ball and will be looking to get back to .500 this week with a win over the Panthers.

There is no question that the Atlanta Falcons are still considered to be one of the best all-around teams in the NFL right now despite the losing record, but they will definitely need to get a win in Week 6 in order to hold off their critics or their season could continue to head into a downward spiral with no hope for a playoff berth.

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The key to success for the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6 will be stopping Cam Newton. If the Falcons can contain Newton early and often, the Carolina Panthers will have little chance of pulling off the upset over their division rivals. Even though I believe that the Atlanta Falcons are the better all-around football team right now and for the foreseeable future, Cam Newton and company might be able to pull off the unlikely upset in Week 6 if they can keep the Falcons’ defense on their heels all night long.

As of right now, the Atlanta Falcons favored to get the win in this NFC South showdown with a -4 point spread. The Falcons could get the win in Week 6 and do it in convincing fashion, but I believe the Panthers pull off the upset.

Take the Panthers a +4.

Rookie quarterbacks in the NFL rarely have success right out of the gate as it can be extremely tough for these youngsters to transcend their game from the college level to the NFL level. Occasionally, rookie gunslinger can surprise everyone and play at a high level in the NFL and that is exactly what former Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton did in his NFL debut for the Carolina Panthers.

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Even though the Carolina Panthers were unable to get the best of the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, Cam Newton put on a show in his rookie debut by breaking an NFL rookie record for passing yards in a game with an unbelievable 422 yards through the air. This was surprising to say the least as there was talk during Panthers training camp that Newton might not even be able to beat out second-year quarterback Jimmy Clausen for the starting role.

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Along with his record 422 passing yards, Cam Newton finished with two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Needless to say, Newton’s debut was a great success and gave the Panthers hope for the future with the BCS champion quarterback under center. Not only did Newton impress his doubters in his debut with the Carolina Panthers, but he may have resurrected the career of one of the best wide receivers in the NFL as Steve Smith became his favorite target in the passing game as the two connected for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

It is uncertain whether or not the Carolina Panthers will be able to compete for a playoff spot in the NFC Conference this season as they are still a young and inexperienced team with a rookie quarterback running the show, but things do look much more promising with Cam Newton playing much better than anticipated. It doesn’t help that the Panthers play in one of the most competitive divisions in the conference with the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all battling it out for the NFC South division title, but the Carolina Panthers might be able to turn some heads this season if they can continue to play well.

In Week 2, the Carolina Panthers will face perhaps their toughest challenge of the season as they will go head-to-head against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. With the Packers coming off an all-out battle against the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay seems to be firing on all cylinders and ready to compete for a Super Bowl title for the second straight season, but Cam Newton might be able to test this defense that did struggle against Drew Brees at times last week.

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The Green Bay Packers are favored by -10 in the point spread for Week 2’s showdown against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, but I won’t be surprised to see the Panthers give the defending champs a run for their money.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)

As perhaps one of the most surprising teams in the NFL last season, the future of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is looking bright to say the least. Coming into last season, the Bucs weren’t considered to be in the conversation for the playoffs in the NFC Conference, but that quickly changed after quarterback Josh Freeman and company got off to a great start.

Even though everyone was waiting for the Bucs to fall flat on their face and turn back into one of the worst teams in the league, that never happen and Tampa Bay actually gave the New Orleans Saints and the ev

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entual NFC South division champion Atlanta Falcons a run for their money in the division.

Making the playoffs this season is a very good possibility for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they have relatively the same team intact and now have the experience needed to make the next step. Winning the NFC South is a stretch for the Bucs playing in the same division as the Saints and the Falcons, but they might be able to contend for the NFC Wildcard.

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New Orleans Saints (11-5)

Last season the New Orleans Saints were the defending Super Bowl champions and seemed like they hadn’t lost step during certain times in the year. Around midseason though, the consensus was that the Saints weren’t the best team in the NFL anymore and needed to do that much more to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Fortunately, the New Orleans Saints were able to clinch a playoff spot and keep hopes of repeating alive, but then they were dominated by the lowly Seattle Seahawks in the first round. This surprised everyone and made q

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uite a few people believe that the Saints might need to make some moves in order to get back to Super Bowl title contender status next season.

The move that this team made to get back in contention was drafting Heisman trophy winning running back Mark Ingram out of Alabama and cutting their ties with former Heisman trophy winner Reggie Bush by trading him to the Miami Dolphins. Whether or not these moves are just what this team needs to get back on top remains to be seen, but I believe the Saints’ running game will get a boost with Ingram instead of Bush this season.

Atlanta Falcons (13-3, Division title)

Much like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, the Atlanta Falcons were one of the most surprising teams in the league as they went from a promising young team into a legitimate Super Bowl title contender in just one season.

With quarterback Matt Ryan looking like a perennial Pro Bowler and both Roddy White and Michael Turner becoming dominant forces in the Falcons offense, Atlanta was able to have a breakout season and become arguably the best team in the NFC Conference.

This season I believe the Atlanta Falcons will repeat as NFC South division champions and will see a new star emerge in rookie wide receiver Julio Jones playing across from Roddy White.

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Carolina Panthers (2-14)

The Carolina Panthers were the worst team in the NFL last season with little or no hope for the future. Even though the Panthers thought they had drafted the future face of the franchise in quarterback Jimmy Clausen, Carolina were disappointed with their draft pick and decided to top it this time around by drafting Heisman trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton with the number one overall pick.

Whether or not Cam Newton turns out to be what the Carolina Panthers had hoped for remains to be seen, but the rookie quarterback will almost certainly get some much needed time under center this season.

Division Winner Prediction: Atlanta Falcons

There are only three weeks left in the NFL regular season and the playoff picture is starting to shape up, especially since six teams have been officially knocked out of playoff contention.

Here are the six teams that will not be making it to the postseason and reasons why they will not be competing to make it to the Super Bowl this year:

Washington Redskins (5-8)

Coming into this NFL regular season, the Washington Redskins had made some pretty drastic changes in order to finally turn around their struggling storied franchise, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case as they will once again miss the playoffs.

With the addition of six-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb from the division rival Philadelphia Eagles and two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Mike Shanahan, the expectations in the nation’s capital were a little higher than usual, but even though they seemed to be a better team earlier in the season, the same result came out in the end.

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Dallas Cowboys (4-9)

The Dallas Cowboys are without a doubt the best team all around team on this list with the most talent on the offensive side of the football, but they just weren’t able to pull things together until head coach Wade Phillips got the boot and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett got a much needed promotion.

Ever since Garrett has taken over, America’s Team has played like the team everyone thought they would be, but it was just too little too late for this team and now they are just playing for pride.

Denver Broncos (3-10)

The Denver Broncos headed into this season bruised and banged up as their defense and running game had taken some serious blows with injuries. Even with their best linebacker Elvis Dumervil and 80% of their running backs on the injured list, the Broncos were facing an uphill battle against three other AFC West division teams that had made considerable upgrades in the offseason.

Despite having an offense that was putting up major numbers with quarterback Kyle Orton under center, the Denver Broncos just haven’t been able to play consistently well throughout the season and as a result have quickly turned into one of the worst teams in the league.

Detroit Lions (3-10)

There is no doubting that the Detroit Lions are one of the most talented young teams in the league with a promising future, but they still have a ways to go before they can contend with the best of the best in this league or even in the NFC North division.

With Matthew Stafford under center, running back Jahvid Best coming out of the backfield, superstar wide receiver Calvin “Megatron” Johnson downfield and rookie standout defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh leading the defense, this team has a bright future.

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Buffalo Bills (3-10)

The Buffalo Bills haven’t been a good football team in the NFL for a long time and not many people expected much from this team once again this season, but their 3-10 record coming into Week 15 doesn’t do them justice as they should have a winning record and a chance to make the playoffs right now, much like the Dallas Cowboys.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case as the Bills haven’t been able to closeout games this season, but they might have finally found their starting quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick which is only good news moving forward.

Carolina Panthers (1-12)

The Carolina Panthers were considered a legitimate threat to make the playoffs before this NFL regular season began, but since then they totally dropped the ball and quickly become the worst team in the league with some questions surrounding quarterback Jimmy Clausen.