The team took a potentially damaging injury to CB Brian Williams in Sunday’s season-finale romp over the Panthers. Williams, who was playing on a reconstructed right knee, left the game in the second quarter and was replaced by Christopher Owens. If Williams is down for the playoffs, the Falcons will lose his ability to play tight man coverage out of the slot and the ability to bring disguised pressure off the edge. He took over at nickel back for Owens midway through the season. Williams has been a vital part of the team’s blitz packages, as a pass rusher off the edge. Owens wasn’t able to mount much pressure off the edge early in the season. Owens, a second-year player, has struggled in man coverage at times. …

DTs Corey Peters, Jonathan Babineaux and Peria Jeria all had sacks against the Panthers. They showed the ability to collapse the pocket and get to the quarterback when the edge rushers hemmed in Jimmy Clausen. The Falcons had 12 sacks over the past five games and will need to generate sacks in the playoffs, especially if they see Drew Brees and the Saints in the divisional round.

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Carolina Panthers
The Panthers finished the season the way they started it, by not scoring enough points. Their 31-10 loss to Atlanta left them with 196 points for the season, by far the lowest mark in franchise history. That’s going to create an offseason full of analyzing how to fix the offense. It’ll start with the decision on a coach. Though the general manager and owner have defensive mindsets, there’s also the reality that their passing game is decades behind.

That also calls into question the future of QB Jimmy Clausen, who finished 1-9 with the lowest passer rating in the NFL (58.4). The Panthers almost certainly would draft Stanford QB Andrew Luck if he enters the draft. Otherwise, the team has significant issues to address, as there’s no certainty WR Steve Smith wants to stay and RB DeAngelo Williams can become a free agent. The Panthers have a few promising young receivers but still need a major upgrade at the position. They’re solid at running back, with Jonathan Stewart and Mike Goodson a good enough duo if they want to focus their efforts elsewhere.