PREVIEW: Carolina Panthers travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons in a pivotal NFC South matchup

PREVIEW: Carolina Panthers travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons in a pivotal NFC South matchup

It’s an NFC South showdown. Falcons versus Panthers. Week 11, crossover Thursday. Who wants it more? [Music] You are locked on NFL Crossover, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Welcome back everyone to a crossover Thursday presented by Prospects. I am Aaron Freeman of Locked on Falcons joined by Julian Council of Locked On Panthers and of course we are talking Crossover Thursday week 11 and both of these shows are part of the Locked On podcast network. now the number one sports podcast network not only in America and you know if it’s number one in America that means it’s number one in the world and if it’s number one in the world that means it’s number one in the solar system and if it’s number one in the solar system it means it’s number one in the galaxy so we appreciate each and every one of you that are everydayers contributing to our galactic conquest that is the locked on podcast network and if you want to be an everydayer all you got to do is make either Lock on Falcons or Locked on Panthers, your first listen each and every day. And all you got to do is subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. Of course, Crossover Thursdays presented by Prize Pix, make sure you download the Prize Pix app today and use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. So, those of you that have been everyday, you know what Crossover Thursday is. For those of you new to our Galactic Spanning Lockdown Podcast Network, Crossover Thursday, we’ll be breaking down this week 11 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers. Talk about the biggest stories, which I’m sure will somewhat involve the two quarterbacks. Uh, as well as some key matchups and what does each one of these teams have to do in order to get to win, aka keys to victory. Uh, but let’s get into that biggest story, Julian, now. And yes, it seems like, you know, the Carolina Panthers passing game isn’t going strong, but hey, what’s the worry? Bryce Young’s playing the Atlanta Falcons. He’s had three straight wins, and you know, QB wins are the most important stat. I know you know that when it comes to football, uh, you know, he’s going to bounce back against the Atlanta Falcons. So, what’s the concern with Bryce Young in the passing game? Yeah, I don’t subscribe to uh QB wins being a stat, but uh, if you want to use him, go ahead, feel free. I’m not going to do it, though. And yes, last time in Atlanta back in week 18 earlier this year in January, Bryce Young was spectacular. Five touchdowns in that overtime win. But last time against the Falcons, it wasn’t like the Panthers offense was that great. Bryce only had 121 yards passing. They did win that game 30 to nothing. But if you watched it really closely, you look at the Panthers offense and just raise an eyebrow like, are they really that good? Did they play that well today? And that still continued to be an issue, especially with the passing game these two months after the fact here heading into week 11 and coming off a performance where Bryce Young only threw for 124 yards in that loss against the previously 1 and8 New Orleans Saints where the Saints load the box and dared Bryce Young to beat him and he couldn’t do it. And now that has a lot of people wanting to ask bigger questions that probably then that probably need to be asked at this point in time. It’s still questions that I think are valid as far as whether Bryce Young longterm is the right guy for Carolina. He’s going to be the guy for at least this Sunday and the six games remaining after this week. But there are serious concerns about the lack of a downfield passing game and it’s really the lack of a consistent efficient offensive pass game so far for Carolina. Well, it’s interesting. You you talk about Bryce Young’s future being within doubt uh in these last couple of games will sort of really kind of help determine what his long-term future is in Carolina. It’s a similar conversation with Michael Penn, although he’s much much earlier in his career. Um you know, some ups and down performances throughout this season and you know, you have people coming off of this uh game in Germany with the Falcons lost to the Colts in overtime. You know, a lot of people were ready to abandon chip on Michael Penn. I’m not quite there yet, but certainly, you want to see that uptick in the back half of the season, similar to what we saw with Bryce Young when he came back strong uh last season after coming back from his benching. And that gave you the Carolina Panthers fans listening. You know, a lot more confidence going into the season. Maybe he hasn’t quite lived up to that, but you want that for the Atlanta Falcons and Michael Penn. Really kind of the big story this week is like, you know, is there a ticking clock on Raheem Morris’s time here in Atlanta? Because the Falcons are off to a very slow start, three and six. I know the Panther fans are chopping at the bit with like, we have a chance to cause the firing of another Atlanta Falcons coach because the one time Falcons owner Arthur Blank has actually fired a coach in season happened in 2020 when they fired Dan Quinn after a fivegame losing streak, five consecutive losses. in it. The last one was a home loss to the Carolina Panthers. Well, guess what? Raheem Morris has lost four straight games and they lose this week in a significant way. Again, if it’s like a 30-27 overtime game, although I’m sure lots of Panther fans are like 30 points, oh wow. Um, but you know, but you know, I think if it’s a close game, you probably won’t see those heads roll. But if it’s a kind of an embarrassing loss like we saw in week three with the Falcons losing 30 to nothing, I it wouldn’t shock me. I wouldn’t sit here and bet on it, but it would not absolutely shock me if this is maybe Raheem Morris’s last uh stint in Atlanta. Yeah. And I’m curious now that Brian Dable has been fired, which I’m sure Mike McDaniel down in Miami, who we basically try to fire every single week, but they did come off of a big win against Buffalo. And shout out to Mike pulling up to a Bills bar there in Miami after the win. Absolutely love that. Even if he’s going to go out likely without a job after the season in Miami, I love the move. Like cuz when you win, celebrate. But yeah, losing 30 to nothing earlier this year, not ideal. We top up Bryce Young. Last year, he started to get the nickname Carolina Reaper because you looked at Dennis Allen got fired after the Panthers beat him. Uh, also Daniel Jones lost his job after the loss there in Germany. So, could Raheem Morris be the next victim of the Carolina Reaper, Bryce Young? Quite possibly. And it’s unfortunate like this is his last opportunity, I’d imagine, as an NFL coach. And last year was when they really needed to get to the playoffs. The way things fell apart for Atlanta, that did not bode well for at least the confidence I’m sure Arthur Blank has in him heading into the season. And then now sitting at three and six, you get to three and seven where you’re effectively out of the playoff race, which I mean you probably already feel that way right now anyways, Aaron. I’m sure any sensible Falcons fan does as well. And maybe Arthur is holding out hope that it’s not the case, but you lose this game. Um, yeah, not not good. they’d be getting swept by the Panthers that are still they’re a much better team, but this is still a rebuilding team in Carolina that was hoping after that win against the Packers that maybe they could be a year ahead of schedule. They were humbled on Sunday by losing to the Saints and told that actually no, you’re not just there yet. But to be swept by this team when I think Atlanta, especially when they hired Raheem, thought they were a lot closer to being like an actual competitive playoff team and then missing that mark two years in a row and his only two years here at this point in time that yeah, that may be a fireball offense, especially in today’s NFL. Yeah, this game boils down to a must-win game for the Atlanta Falcons as you sort of mention it. They’ve already lost two games in the division. if there’s any hope to salvage this season, whether that’s a playoff birth or just getting back closer to 500, they have to win this game. They have to show. And I remember Julian when we had the NFC South preview this summer, we all agreed that the Bucks were the sort of class in the division and the question was, you know, could any of these other teams challenge them? And, you know, I thought the Falcons were the best option to do so. Uh, but I also kind of thought that at that stage the Falcons were probably a little closer to the Carolina Panthers uh than they were to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in in terms of that spectrum. And what you’ve seen so far is like the Falcons, if they can’t prove it this Sunday at home, uh, and have a bounce back after a four-ame losing streak, they’re not even close to the Carolina Panthers. They’re they might be closer to the New Orleans Saints that are in the bottom of the division. So that is a tough pill to swallow if you’re Arthur Blank and that may be what w will potentially prompt a regime change in season. We’ll see if the Falcons can take care of business, but if they can, you know, they will have to take care of some critical matchups. And we’ll get into some of these matchups that we will be focused on uh come Sunday as we continue today’s crossover Thursday presented by Prize Picks. 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Hey, it’s good to be right. So, we want to thank every one of you that is in every day of this podcast and makes it your first listen. Once again, you are the reason why we are number one in the galaxy, maybe even the universe when it comes to being the top sports network. That’s the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. But continuing today’s crossover Thursday, presented by Prospects. Julian, let’s talk about some of these key matchups. Two teams that are very familiar with one another playing in the NFC South. What do you have your eye on? Any unit battles, positional battles, player battles? What are you looking at this Sunday? Yeah, it’s a player versus a unit. It’s Bjon Robinson versus the Panthers run defense. Go back to that week three matchup. Uh Carolina kind of held him down. Only 72 yards on 13 carries. Now, that does equal 5 and a half yards per carry. So, it wasn’t like he wasn’t having success when he did carry, but there wasn’t the kind of performances that we have seen out of Bjan and also we’ve seen Carolina give up in the past. And back in week three, people were still wondering whether this Panthers run defense was any good because they were not good against Jacksonville. They weren’t really great either against Arizona, even though they were much better certainly holding down James Connor prior to his injury. So, the Falcons, that was going to be a big test, and they did a good job. Overall, I think Atlanta had over 130 yards rushing in that game, but there wasn’t a ton of explosive plays in that matchup. Now, since then, Carolina’s seventh in yards per attempt allowed uh when looking at the run game at 3.9. They’re eighth in defensive total rush EPA and they’re sixth in defensive success rate. Now, Bjan’s not really done a ton recently since um week three from weeks four to 10. He’s 11th in the NFL in rushing, 440 yards. He’s only 12th in yards per attempt, 28th in EPA per rush, and has a 38.6 rushing success rate. Now, Tyler Alier is seventh right now in rushing success rate among running backs at least 45 carries. So, there’s another back in Atlanta to be concerned about, but that is an area still where I’m looking at if Carolina is going to win, they’ve got to find a way to hold down the Falcon the Falcons rushing attack like they did back in week three and see if they can get any more of those kind of turnovers that they were able to get off of Michael Penn Jr. on that Sunday where Yeah, he was just really bad. I don’t know what was going on with him that day. Yeah, it was a very tough tough watch for Michael Penn. Uh he’s grown past that, but not to quite the degree where you’re like that’s a thing definitely in our rear view. And so if you’re the Atlanta Falcons, you definitely want to get Ban Robinson going. I think that’s a critical matchup for the Falcons on offense. And that was the thing in those first couple of games. The Falcons hadn’t quite weaponized Bejian as a uh pass catcher yet that they really kind of had that breakout game in terms of utilizing him in the passing game the following week against Washington and that win that they had. Um and then the other sort of matchup that will help facilitate Bejian getting going whether it’s as a runner as a pass catcher is always this sort of marquee matchup between this Falcons offense and this Panthers defense which is Chris Lindstöm versus Derek Brown. And unfortunately for the Falcons, it feels like Derrick Brown tends to get the better of Chris Lindstöm. And I think, you know, Lindstöm is one of the best guards in football. It’s been a kind of underwhelming month for him uh this past month, uh in terms of what his normal play is. And so, you’re kind of hoping, okay, like, you know, going up against one of the best interior Dlinemen in the NFL, you know, he has a bounceback game. It’s not going to be easy to do. But if Chris Lindstöm can have the type of performances that we’ve seen at the peak of his powers, that’s a huge boost to this Falcons run game. Uh, and we’ll see if that will be the thing that can get Bejian Robinson going. as you mentioned, you know, a big part of why Bejon didn’t have quite the dominant game that I think people were concerned about going into that game if you’re Panthers fans and Falcon fans were hoping for is because Carolina got a big lead and and it’s hard to run the ball when you’re down, you know, 7,000 scores at that point it felt like at various points in that game. And you know, that’s a similar situation with the Falcons. They can’t stop the run at all. And so if they’re gonna have any success slowing down Rico Dao and this Panthers rushing attack, they’re going to have to get an early lead because if it just boils down to stopping the run, like they’re not going to do it. For those of you Panther fans that didn’t realize it, Jonathan Taylor uh ran for 244 yards last week. Uh the Colts ran for 323 combined as a football team. And so that is going to be one of the key matchups. But basically, I already know based off of what we’ve seen over nine games that the Panthers will have no problem winning that match that the only real chance the Falcons have of slowing down the run game is getting an early lead and forcing Carolina to abandon the run. Yeah. And I had somebody ask me on the mailbag episode I did yesterday about the fact that the Saints were able to stop Carolina and if that was going to be the game plan for defenses moving forward, would the Panthers win another game? And I did point out that right now Atlanta sits 28th in defensive total rush EPA and they’re 27th in yards per rush allowed. So this is by far the worst rushing defense Panthers going to see the rest of the season. They’re going to see teams like Seattle and the Rams that are excellent against the run. Tampa’s right there middle of the road. 49ers, they’re pretty decent run stopping defense as well. But the Falcons, that’s not the case. So, this absolutely has got to be a game you got to get, especially if you’re not going to get a ton out of the passing game. And one other thing I’m looking at, speaking of the passing game, is uh the match up between Tedo McMillan, Panthers rookie, and AJ Terrell, who did not play in this game back in week three. And that was something that actually T-Mac brought up in the locker room on Wednesday. And I asked him, does that provide any more focus or juice? And he didn’t really want to make anything out of it. Obviously, you’re excited for these matchups. So, that would be one to look at. As I look at the season so far, I don’t really feel like he’s gone up against any of the top corners in the league. Yes, Sas Gardner for the Jets, but he went out with a concussion in that game. So, as far as for a full game, this is probably going to be the best corner he’s going to have faced all season long. Maybe Christian Gonzalez, who’s coming off an injury back in week four up in New England, a fully healthy vet guy who’s gotten his money. AJ Trell is probably the best one he’s faced off against. So, that’ll be interesting to see how that matchup plays out, especially knowing that he has been really the only wide receiver the Panthers can rely on, but this is a passing game where uh there’s not really anything reliable about what we’ve seen out of it so far through the first 10 games of the season here in Carolina. Yeah, you that’s the matchup I circled for the Falcons defense. As you mentioned, AJ did not play in that last game and uh hopefully we’ll be able to keep Tedo McMillan in check and that will hopefully keep the Panthers passing game in check and if the Falcons can find some way to score points and uh you know take the Panthers running game uh out of it and keep that in check, then that may be the formula for the Falcons winning this game. And that’s going to get us to what each team needs to do in order to win the game. And you know, a quicker way of saying that is just keys to victory. And we’ll be breaking that down as we wrap up today’s crossover Thursday here on Locked on Falcons and Locked On Panthers. So today’s show is sponsored by BetterHelp. As the days get shorter and the nights come earlier, it can start to feel a little heavier, especially when life is already packed with work, family, and everything else. This season, it’s so important to reach out and check in with friends, family, and even yourself. 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Wrapping up today’s crossover Thursday presented by prize picks, we have the Falcons favored by three and a half points here over at our favorite, you know, sports book that supports the number one podcast network in the galaxy, which is FanDuel. And we are talking about keys to victory. As I mentioned, one of those for the Atlanta Falcons is getting off to a fast start. They cannot stop the run to save their life. If, you know, their mother was being held hostage and it says, “Don’t let Rico Dao run for 18 yards.” Well, you got to kiss your mother goodbye because that’s what the Falcons run defense is. And so, if they can get off to a fast start, that may be able to force the Carolina Panthers to abandon the run. Uh, and so Rico Data won’t be murdering anybody’s mothers uh this upcoming Sunday. But, uh, Julian, when we talk about some keys to victory for you with the Carolina Panthers from your perspective, what do you got for us? Yeah. Well, one of them does actually, uh, pertain to Rico Dowel, and it’s not necessarily him being the the engine for Carolina on Sunday, but it’s being a kind of just a piece of the puzzle because they’ve really leaned on him over the last couple of weeks since he’s become it’s only been two weeks where he’s been the lead back, but the last two weeks he’s been dealing with a quad injury. in last week. He did not practice on Wednesday, was limited on Thursday, and then full on Friday. On Wednesday, injury report came out this week. He did not practice, so we’ll see if it’s the same cadence as it was a week ago. And this is going to be something with the quad that it seems like he’s going to be dealing with that they’re going to have to monitor over the course of the rest of the season. I saw him in the locker room on Wednesday, was walking a little gimpy. Uh, I’m not saying he’s not gonna play on Sunday, but that’s going to be one of those things where, man, are you running him a little bit too much? And I understand all the Panther fans want to see Rico be the guy, and rightfully so. He had been far better of a back this season than Chuba Hubard, but maybe Chuba Hubard could be a piece of the offense moving forward. Maybe not the kind of rotation they were doing for those two weeks where it didn’t make any sense at all the way things were going. Um, but I’m just curious about that. So, I think they need to find a way to take pressure off of Rico, and that’s by finding something in the passing game. Whether it’s down the field, whether it’s just in the intermediate, you got to do something more than what you’ve been doing over the last well 10 weeks because the passing game hasn’t been great. Aside from that comeback attempt against Arizona where Bryce Young threw over 300 yards, a careerhigh in that loss against the Cardinals. So, they got to find a way to take some pressure off of Rico. Uh, stopping the run, of course, I think that’s a key obviously for Atlanta to win this game. to stop the run like they did back in week three and then you got to take care of the football. When this team turns it over, they really have a tough time winning and that happened on Sunday against New Orleans. They got a break there after the block field goal crossing line of scrimmage was touched by the Saints. So the Panthers able to get the ball back and then they fumble in the red zone with an opportunity to go tie at least take the lead in that game. Bryce Young throws an interception late as well and you won this game in large part back in week three because Atlanta I mean Michael Pennix Jr. was so off from the beginning, but he had the pick six there to start off the third quarter. Like the turnovers were key in that win. And also special teams was key in that win as well as the former Falcons kicker John Parker Romo had a rough day. And uh yeah, Justice Young Wu or for Young Wu, that’s what Prince Ellen, the rookie edge rusher, head in Carolina afterwards um over on Twitter X. So yeah, that those would be the keys I have at least for uh this coming Sunday. Yeah. Um, you know, you you bring up the the kicking situation. Uh, I that’s one of the keys for me. I’ve been basically because of the revolving door at the kickering situation and the lack of consistency, I’ve I’ve basically refused to acknowledge the new kicker, uh, Zayn Gonzalez on the podcast. Basically, you got to go out there and earn the right for me to learn what your name is because I don’t trust that any kicker the Falcons bring into this building is actually going to work long term for this football team. but he did make both kicks and as you mentioned, you know, that was not the case for Parkco Romo back in week three. And so that’s going to be a key. Special teams has got to step it up. They’re coming off a really rough game. Like Gonzalez was basically the only, you know, guy that did his job this past Sunday uh in Germany against the Colts. And so that whole unit is going to have a bounceback and the kicking game is going to be scrutinized uh once more. And then you mentioned it with the turnovers like that’s a big thing. Uh, you know, basically the last couple weeks I’ve been mentioning this stat and it’s been going against the Falcons, but basically up until the last two weeks they were 8-0 in games under Raheem Morris where they were positive on the turnover margin, meaning that they took the ball away more than they gave the ball away. In the last two weeks, they have, despite winning the turnover margin against the Patriots and Colts, they have lost both games. Uh, I like to believe, uh, it is not because I’m jinxing them on the podcast by mentioning that that stat, but it is because the Colts and the Patriots are two really good football teams and, you know, better football teams than the Carolina Panthers. Sorry, lockdown Panthers listeners. Uh, and I feel like the Falcons and Panthers are much more evenly matched teams. And so, one or two turnovers, uh, in either team’s favor is going to be much more decisive, uh, in this game than it was in the last two games where teams like the Colts and Patriots have shown themselves to be much better than the Falcons and so can survive, you know, losing a possession here or there because their offenses and defenses andor uh, other areas can make up for that. So, I think the turnover ma margin in battle is going to be another key to victory for either one of these teams, but especially the Atlanta Falcons. Yeah. And for Carolina, too, looking at things down the stretch, like they’re sitting here at five and five, and if they win this game on Sunday and Tampa loses to Buffalo, which both of those scenarios are certainly possible, uh they would only be a half a game outside of first place in the NFC South. Now, I don’t believe that this is going to be a playoff team. this season. If that was the case, they wouldn’t have lost two and one and eight Saints team. Now, it’s a week- toeek league. You got to turn the page and you’re 0 and0 every week. All that, blah, blah, blah. We get it. But come on, guys. You can’t lose to New Orleans and then think you’re going to be able to go on the road on Monday night and beat San Francisco and then turn around and beat the Rams at home and then play Seattle at home, Tampa at home, and then Tampa on the road. This is one of their easiest games remaining. Oh, and I forgot to mention they’re playing the Saints again uh down at the Superdome. So, when looking at tankathon.com, which has been a favorite website for a lot of Panther fans over the last couple of years, and I’m hoping it’s not going to be one that we really have to look at as far as the draft order here uh through the last eight weeks or whatever, seven weeks. Yeah, eight weeks, but seven games of the season. Um they have the Panthers with the number one toughest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL. and their easy games are this Sunday against Atlanta and at New Orleans. So, these are the ones you got to take care of absolutely if you want to be playing still meaningful football there in December with an opportunity to maybe sneak up and win a division or maybe even find a way to win get a wild card spot. So, it starts on Sunday, get to six and five. I would think any Panther fan when the season began, you tell them they’re six and five through 11 games and they still have an opportunity. They’re only a half game outside of division. I think they would a lot of them would sign up for that and feel good pretty good about the direction of the team if that were the case. So yeah, this is a game that Carolina absolutely needs to win. Not as far as their coach getting fired like it may be the case in Atlanta, uh but as far as just staying on track and putting yourself in position over the final six games to be right there still in the hunt for a playoff spot. Well, uh, I feel like this is an even more must-win game for the Atlanta Falcons for all the reasons that we’ve outlined on today’s episode that, you know, jobs are potentially on the line. You can’t fall three and seven at this stage in the season. Um, you could Yes, sure you could. Um, you know, Tankathon is has not been a good website to me because every time I visit it, I’m reminded that the Falcons gave away their 2026 uh draft number one draft pick uh next year. So, you know, I curse that website uh at this current stage. And so, you know, I might be able to go back and visit Tangadon if the Falcons can um you know, string together some wins uh here. They got a a a relatively easy stretch here with Carolina at home. Then you go on the road against New Orleans. You go on the road against the Jets. You know, the Falcons have not been a particularly good road team this year, but those are arguably the two weakest opponents on your schedule. So, if you’re going to steal a road win from somebody, it might as well be the Saints and the Jets. And so, there’s an opportunity for the Falcons to string together three wins, get back to 500 uh after Thanksgiving at six and six, but it’s got to start on Sunday. And, you know, you can’t look ahead and be like, “Oh, we’re going to win three games in a row without winning the first game.” And hopefully the Falcons will have a lot more sense of urgency, right? They got embarrassed by this Panthers team back in week three. They got to be chomping at the bit. They got to be hungry. They got to show that there’s dog in this fight. All the cliches that we hear constantly with their backs against the wall, circle the wagons, etc. And if they show that, they can come away with a win. If they don’t, well, there will be consequences and repercussions at some point either Monday or later this season. So, we will see what those consequences and repercussions will be on Sunday. Of course, Julian and I will be keeping you covered here on Locked On Falcons and Locked On Panthers all week long to gear you up for week 11. Of course, we still have lots of football to be played elsewhere in the NFL and Locked on NFL will have you covered there. Two shows daily, the madman, Tyler Roland, and of course, head on over to the Barber Shop with Tony Wiggins. They’re going to keep you geared up for this week 11 action. Of course, you know, it’s going to be all here on the number one sports podcast network in the galaxy. Yes, I’m going to run that into the ground because I want to make sure that you guys understand that you, the everydayers, are the reason why we are number one in the galaxy. So, I appreciate all of you. We’ll be back with more as the week unfolds. Continue to make Locked on the Podcast Network your first listen, your team every day.

Atlanta Falcons face a must-win NFC South showdown against the Carolina Panthers—will Raheem Morris keep his job, or does Bryce Young claim another coaching victim? Julian Council and Locked On Falcons Aaron Freeman analyze the stakes as Michael Penix battles inconsistency, Bijan Robinson squares off against an improved Panthers run defense, and the Falcons inability to stop the run puts their season and staff on the line.

Key matchups include Chris Lindstrom vs. Derrick Brown and rookie WR Tetairoa McMillan testing AJ Terrell. The hosts break down turnover margins, special teams woes, and Carolina’s playoff hopes, with questions swirling around Bryce Young’s long-term future and Rico Dowdle’s health. Both teams are desperate for a statement win—could a Falcons loss trigger regime change in Atlanta, or will the Panthers tough remaining schedule halt their postseason push?

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:03 Top Storylines
11:26 Matchups to Watch
19:57 Keys to Victory

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