2015 Week 16 · Sun, Dec 27, 2015 · Georgia Dome
Carolina Panthers
13
at
Atlanta FalconsWinner
20
CAR -7 upsetU 45.5 ✓Dome
Atlanta Falcons 20–13.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Passing · ATL
23/30, 306 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
18.9 expected points added · +8.9% completion over expected
Passing · CAR
17/30, 142 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
-13.9 expected points added · -10.2% completion over expected
Full stat lines
Box score
Carolina Panthers
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Newton | 17/30 | 142 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -13.9 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Artis-Payne | 5 | 49 | 9.8 | 0 | 2.0 |
| Cam Newton | 7 | 46 | 6.6 | 1 | 5.4 |
| Fozzy Whittaker | 5 | 32 | 6.4 | 0 | 1.9 |
| Jerricho Cotchery | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 | 1.1 |
| Mike Tolbert | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 0.6 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Olsen | 4 | 6 | 40 | 0 | 21% | -1.1 |
| Corey Brown | 3 | 6 | 39 | 0 | 21% | -3.0 |
| Jerricho Cotchery | 4 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 18% | 0.6 |
| Mike Tolbert | 2 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 11% | -0.3 |
| Ted Ginn | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 11% | -1.0 |
| Cameron Artis-Payne | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4% | 0.7 |
| Fozzy Whittaker | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7% | -1.0 |
| Ed Dickson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4% | -0.5 |
| Devin Funchess | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4% | -0.5 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kurt Coleman | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Kuechly | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kawann Short | 7 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Harper | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shaq Thompson | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Norman | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Charles Tillman | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Davis | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Johnson | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Addison | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Atlanta Falcons
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Ryan | 23/30 | 306 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18.9 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devonta Freeman | 22 | 73 | 3.3 | 1 | -2.1 |
| Terron Ward | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | -1.3 |
| Matt Ryan | 6 | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | -10.1 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio Jones | 9 | 11 | 178 | 1 | 38% | 13.8 |
| Roddy White | 5 | 6 | 67 | 0 | 21% | 5.2 |
| Jacob Tamme | 4 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 14% | 2.3 |
| Devonta Freeman | 3 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 17% | 2.3 |
| Justin Hardy | 2 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 10% | -0.5 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Alford | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Justin Durant | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Phillip Adams | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nate Stupar | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vic Beasley | 4 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Desmond Trufant | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ricardo Allen | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philip Wheeler | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kroy Biermann | 1 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Kemal Ishmael | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- CAR -7
- Closing total
- 45.5
- CAR moneyline
- -270
- ATL moneyline
- +239
Panthers closed -7 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 45.5; the game landed 33 — under by 12.5.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Georgia Dome
- Roof / surface
- dome · fieldturf
- Kickoff weather
- Indoors — weather neutralized
- Referee
- John Parry
- Rest
- CAR 7 days · ATL 7 days
- Coaches
- Ron Rivera vs Dan Quinn
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.