Thursday night's NFC South clash between the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers does not inspire a ton of hype on the surface.
However, there is hope that the two sides can deliver something that resembles the Week 8 clash in which the Falcons won 37-34 in overtime.
Atlanta owns the worst passing defense in the NFL and Carolina has the third-worst rushing defense, so even if both teams tried, they may not be able to hold down the best parts of two average offenses.
The struggles of both defenses led me to two players that should be heavily involved on Thursday night.
Terrace Marshall Over 35.5 Receiving Yards
Terrace Marshall Over 2.5 Receptions
Terrace Marshall has come on lately as a go-to target for P.J. Walker.
Marshall has at least 30 receiving yards in four of his last five games and he eclipsed 35 yards in his last two appearances.
Marshall produced 87 yards on four receptions in the Week 8 clash with the Falcons. He should receive plenty of attention with D.J. Moore likely being the primary receiver to shut down from Atlanta's perspective.
Atlanta comes into Thursday with the worst passing defense in the NFL. Six opponents threw for over 300 yards against the Falcons already this season. The Panthers may not hit the 300-yard mark, but they can still be very productive through the air with Marshall and Moore working well with Walker.
Cordarrelle Patterson Over 55.5 Rushing Yards
Cordarelle Patterson Anytime TD Scorer (boosted to +200 at DraftKings)
Carolina has the third-worst rushing defense in the NFL.
Cordarrelle Patterson did not get a chance to feast on Carolina in Week 8 because he was still out injured. He returned on Sunday with 44 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Patterson has a touchdown in four of his five games this season and he should break a few decent-sized runs against the Panthers defense.
I do not think the Falcons can win with Marcus Mariota airing the ball out to Kyle Pitts and Co., so expect a heavy dose of all of Atlanta's top runners on Thursday night.