The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 8 matchup between the Bills and Panthers.
Find a breakdown of every Week 8 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Buffalo | Rank | @ | Carolina | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -7.5 | Spread | 7.5 | ||
| 26.5 | Implied Total | 19.0 | ||
| 27.8 | 4 | Points/Gm | 20.7 | 23 |
| 22.8 | 17 | Points All./Gm | 21.7 | 13 |
| 63.0 | 11 | Plays/Gm | 65.3 | 5 |
| 57.2 | 7 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 55.9 | 3 |
| 6 | 4 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.0 | 25 |
| 5.7 | 25 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.3 | 12 |
| 49.21% | 2 | Rush% | 45.51% | 12 |
| 50.79% | 31 | Pass% | 54.49% | 21 |
| 47.52% | 26 | Opp. Rush % | 40.67% | 12 |
| 52.48% | 7 | Opp. Pass % | 59.33% | 21 |
- The Bills are averaging 1.62 points per drive over their past two games after a league-high 3.09 points per drive in Weeks 1 through 4.
- Carolina is now third in the NFL in defensive success rate (62.9%).
- 19.1% of the runs against Buffalo have gained 10 or more yards, the highest rate in the league.
- 48.3% of the yardage allowed by Buffalo has been rushing, the highest rate in the league.
- 42.9% of the yardage gained by Carolina has come via rushing, the third-highest rate in the league.
- 39.9% of Buffalo's yardage has been gained via rushing, fifth in the league.
- Only 12.9% of Carolina's possessions have gone three plays and then a punt, the second-best rate in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Josh Allen: Allen is back from the bye.
He is coming off a down Week 6 outing against Atlanta, in which he completed 57.7% of his passes for 180 yards and 6.9 yards per pass attempt.
Allen has thrown multiple passing touchdowns in five of six games and is still rushing for 42.3 yards per game, so we will not push the panic button.
Allen has had some early-season hangups dealing with pressure.
He has a 43.6 rating when pressured, 29th in the league.
When pressured, Allen has completed 47.9% of his passes (19th) for 5.4 yards per pass attempt (20th) with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Kept clean, Allen has completed 76.2% of his passes (7th) for 8.8 Y/A (4th) with 9 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, for a 125.1 rating (4th).
That is relevant because Carolina is last in the league in terms of pressure rate (25.8%).
The Panthers received a hall pass last week against the Jets, but over their previous three games, they had allowed QB1 scoring weeks to Drake Maye (23.2 points), Tua Tagovailoa (22.7 points), and Dak Prescott (22.3 points).
Allen is a front-end QB1.
If anything does prevent him from breaking the bank here, it will be that this game could feature a low total of offensive plays since both offenses are run-heavy and play control.
The Bills are 30th (42.5 seconds) and Carolina is 23rd (41.7 seconds) in real time per play.
Andy Dalton: Dalton is expected to make his first start of the season this weekend, as Bryce Young left last week’s game with an ankle injury.
Carolina is pushing to get Young back sooner than expected, but that is still unlikely to be this week.
We will follow Young’s status and adjust if needed.
Dalton made five starts with Carolina last year, going 1-4 in those weeks.
He completed 66.3% of his passes for 6.2 yards per pass attempt, with a 4.4% touchdown rate and a 3.8% interception rate.
From a fantasy perspective, he averaged 14.7 points per game, ending his starts as QB8, QB13, QB28, and QB17.
Dalton is a 2QB option in a bye-heavy week, but there are ceiling reservations attached to a lower-end team total.
Buffalo has allowed 11.6 passing points per game, which is fifth in the league.
The Bills are second in the league in terms of pressure rate (43.3%).
When they have gotten pressure, they have allowed a league-low 4.1 yards per pass attempt.
When Dalton was pressured last season, he threw for 4.5 yards per attempt.
Running Back
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More Week 8 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Vikings @ Chargers | Thursday Night Football |
| Dolphins @ Falcons | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jets @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Browns @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Eagles | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bills @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ Ravens | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| 49ers @ Texans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bucs @ Saints | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Cowboys @ Broncos | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Titans @ Colts | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Packers @ Steelers | Sunday Night Football |
| Commanders @ Chiefs | Monday Night Football |
