FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga.

The Atlanta Falcons came into the season with such high expectations.

Then, a jarring dose of reality.

As if a carbon-copy loss in Week 1 wasn’t bad enough, two significant injuries on defense have left this team reeling as it prepares for Sunday’s home opener against division rival Carolina.

The Falcons lost hard-hitting strong safety Keanu Neal to a season-ending knee injury and were forced to put middle linebacker Deion Jones on injured reserve with a foot problem. While Jones is facing a much shorter recovery period, he won’t be eligible to return until Week 11.

Just like that, the Falcons are missing two cornerstones of their promising young defense, a pair of third-year players who were both picked for the Pro Bowl last season.

Panthers, Olsen

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While the Carolina Panthers opened the regular season with a 16-8 win against the Dallas Cowboys, it did not come without a cost.

Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen spent the second half watching the game from the sideline on crutches with his right foot in a boot — the same foot he fractured in 2017 causing him to miss nine games. Later in the game, second-team All-Pro right tackle Daryl Williams was carted off with a knee injury and did not return.

The Panthers are expected to turn to rookie Ian Thomas to start Sunday at tight end against Atlanta, while Amini Silatolu will likely fill in at right tackle.

The Panthers are high on Thomas, who they think has the combination of receiving and blocking skills to be a good fit in their offense, even though he only played two seasons of major college football at Indiana.