Panthers-Falcons moved to 4:25 pm Sunday on CBS

The Panthers-Falcons "win-and-you're-in" playoff game has been moved to 4:25 p.m. Sunday in Atlanta to get it a wider national audience.

As part of the NFL's new "cross-flex" policy, the game will also be shown on CBS rather than on Fox affiliates, as is usually custom for NFC games. The kickoff was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. So in the Charlotte area, the game will be shown on WBTV-Channel 3, The Observer's news partner. There had been some speculation that the Panther kickoff would be moved all the way to Sunday night, but Pittsburgh-Cincinnati took that prime-time slot on Sunday Night Football. The game was originally scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

At 6-8-1, the Panthers have a half-game lead over Atlanta (6-9). The winner of the game will win the NFC South. New Orleans (6-9) is out of the race due to various tiebreaker scenarios.

The Panthers also went to Atlanta last year with a lot on the line. Carolina needed a win to secure a first-round playoff bye, and barely eked one out, 21-20. In the most recent meeting in the I-85 rivalry, however, Atlanta won, 19-17, in Charlotte.