Falcons vs. Panthers: Thursday Night Football game could be impacted by Hurricane Nicole

The Panthers will face the Falcons in Charlotte for the Week 10 Thursday Night Football matchup, and it won't just be their head coach situation that the Panthers will need to worry about. Scattered showers and wind will be added to the list.

Even though Nicole made landfall in Florida, widespread effects will be felt throughout much of the East Coast, including the Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers game on Thursday night.

The Panthers will face the Falcons in Charlotte for the Week 10 Thursday Night Football matchup, and it won't just be their head coach situation that the Panthers will need to worry about. Scattered showers and wind will be added to the list.

Bank of America Stadium, located in downtown Charlotte, is an 'open-air stadium,' meaning that the stadium doesn't have a roof and players and fans will have nothing to block them from the probable rain or wind.  

Nicole made landfall as a hurricane in Florida overnight Wednesday into early Thursday. Still, due to the size of this storm, the threat of heavy rain and flooding will extend to the mid-Atlantic. Nicole will continue moving up the Eastern Seaboard through the weekend.

As for Charlotte, the city could see several inches of rain from Nicole and possibly flash flooding. 

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Rain forecast from Nicole.
(FOX Weather)


 

And both the Falcons and Panthers will need to consider the wind for play-calling. Charlotte could get wind gusts upwards of 30 mph. 

"If you get these winds over 15 mph sustained or over 20 mph sustained, especially, it has a massive correlation – a negative correlation – to scoring to yards to passing yards to all of these important stats," Rotogrinders.com sports meteorologist Kevin Roth said.

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Running the ball instead of passing shouldn't be a problem for the Falcons, though. The Atlanta Falcons are second in the NFL in rushing attempts and rank third in rushing yards. So, if you have Falcons' running back Cordarrelle Patterson in your fantasy lineup, he's still a good option this week, as he's ranked 8th overall in yards per carry.

To tack onto the already mess of a quarterback and coaching situation, the Panthers are still trying to figure out their offense without Christian McCaffrey. The Carolina Panthers have the lowest completion percentage in the NFL and the second-worst passer rating in the league.

Kickoff is slated for 8:15 p.m. ET.

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