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Atlanta Falcons–Carolina Panthers
History
First meeting September 3, 1995
First result Carolina 20, Atlanta 23 (OT)
Last meeting January 2, 2011
Last result Carolina 10, Atlanta 31
Number of
Meetings
32
All-time series Atlanta leads 20–12

The I-85 Rivalry is a rivalry between the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. Both franchises have a combined seven divisional titles (six as members of the same division) and two Super Bowl appearances, with the Falcons appearing in Super Bowl XXXIII and the Panthers appearing in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The rivalry takes its name from Atlanta and Charlotte (home of the Panthers) being only four to five hours apart on Interstate 85.

The Panthers and Falcons have played each other twice a year every year since 1995 as both members of the NFC West and the NFC South. Their games have been marked by intensity, close scores, and remarkable performances.

In the National Basketball Association, the moniker is used to refer to games played between the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Bobcats, who also enjoy an intense rivalry of their own; the Hawks were also onetime rivals of the Charlotte Hornets from 1988 until 2002, when the Hornets relocated to New Orleans.

The rivalry largely mirrors the bitter rivalry between the cities of Charlotte and Atlanta.

Beginning[]

Carolina's first ever regular season game was a 23–20 overtime loss against the Falcons on September 3, 1995. Later that season, however, Carolina went on to defeat Atlanta 21–17 for their seventh win of the year---the most ever for an expansion franchise.[1]

Game results[]

Overtime Result

Date Location Winner Score
September 3, 1995 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 23–30
December 17, 1995 Clemson, SC Carolina Panthers 21–17
September 1, 1996 Charlotte Carolina Panthers 29–6
November 3, 1996 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 20–17
September 7, 1997 Atlanta Carolina Panthers 9–6
October 26, 1997 Charlotte Carolina Panthers 21–12
September 6, 1998 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 19–14
October 4, 1998 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 51–23
October 31, 1999 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 27–20
November 28, 1999 Charlotte Carolina Panthers 43–28
September 17, 2000 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 15–10
October 29, 2000 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 13–12
September 23, 2001 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 24–16
November 25, 2001 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 10–7
October 20, 2002 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 30–0
November 24, 2002 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 41–0
September 28, 2003 Charlotte Carolina Panthers 23–3
December 7, 2003 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 20–14
October 3, 2004 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 27–10
December 18, 2004 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 34–31
December 4, 2005 Charlotte Carolina Panthers 24–6
January 1, 2006 Atlanta Carolina Panthers 44–11
September 10, 2006 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 20–6
December 24, 2006 Atlanta Carolina Panthers 10–3
September 23, 2007 Atlanta Carolina Panthers 27–20
November 11, 2007 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 20–13
September 28, 2008 Charlotte Carolina Panthers 24–9
November 23, 2008 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 45–28
September 20, 2009 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 28–20
November 15, 2009 Charlotte Carolina Panthers 28–19
December 12, 2010 Charlotte Atlanta Falcons 31–10
January 2, 2011 Atlanta Atlanta Falcons 31–10

References[]

  1. In Panthers- Falcons Rivalry, Dislike Runs Deep On Both Sides from Associated press, posted 8 September, 2006.
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