The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 5 matchup between the Panthers and Dolphins.
Find a breakdown of every Week 5 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Miami | Rank | @ | Carolina | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1.5 | Spread | 1.5 | ||
| 23.25 | Implied Total | 21.75 | ||
| 20.8 | 21 | Points/Gm | 18.8 | 26 |
| 29.5 | 26 | Points All./Gm | 23.8 | 19 |
| 53.3 | 30 | Plays/Gm | 64.5 | 9 |
| 59.8 | 12 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 56.3 | 4 |
| 5.4 | 16 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.5 | 27 |
| 6.3 | 30 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.8 | 28 |
| 38.97% | 27 | Rush% | 39.53% | 26 |
| 61.03% | 6 | Pass% | 60.47% | 7 |
| 51.88% | 31 | Opp. Rush % | 47.11% | 23 |
| 48.12% | 2 | Opp. Pass % | 52.89% | 10 |
- Carolina is averaging 1.74 points per drive, 26th in the league.
- The Dolphins are allowing a league-high 3.26 points per drive.
- Miami has allowed opponents to score on a league-high 61.8% of their possessions.
- The Panthers have trailed by double-digits for a league-high 49.6% of their offensive snaps.
- The Panthers have been outscored 22-68 in the first half this season, ahead of only the Saints (-52).
- Miami is averaging 2.92 points per drive in the first half of games (6th) compared to 1.90 points per drive in the second half (16th).
- Carolina is averaging 1.05 points per drive in the first half of games, ahead of only the Browns (0.95).
- The Dolphins have converted 80% (8 of 10) of their red zone trips into touchdowns, second in the league.
- 12.8% of Carolina's offensive plays have gained 10 or more yards, ranking 31st in the league.
- Carolina averages 1.8 sacks plus takeaways per game, 30th in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa: Tagovailoa has yet to log a fantasy week in the front half of weekly scoring through four weeks.
He has only finished lower than QB19 once, however, showcasing a usable floor as a QB2.
Tagovailoa has thrown for more than 177 yards just once, but he does have multiple passing touchdowns in each of the past three games.
That floor-based QB2 range is where Tua is this week.
Carolina is last in the NFL in pressure rate (25.4%) and last in sack rate (1.7%).
Despite that, they have not allowed much fantasy production, ranking eighth in passing points allowed per attempt (0.343).
They have not faced many good fantasy options, but Tagovailoa has operated on QB2 levels himself.
One thing that will be interesting to see is whether there is any change in how teams approach playing Miami in the absence of Tyreek Hill.
Tagovailoa only has 81 dropbacks with Hill off the field over the past two seasons, but has only averaged 5.9 yards per pass attempt on those plays.
Tagovailoa has faced two-high safeties on 65.9% of his dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the league.
The league average is 45.1%.
He has faced man coverage on just 21.9% of his dropbacks (20th).
Carolina does not play any man coverage, using it on just 12.4% of their snaps (tied for 30th).
They also do not play a lot of two-high safeties since their run defense is so bad.
They are third in the NFL in rate of Cover 3 (47.6%), which Tagovailoa has seen on just 22.7% of his snaps (33rd).
In 2024, that rate was 26.5% (32nd) with a two-high look on a league-high 52.9% of his dropbacks.
Bryce Young: It was another rough showing for Young and this offense on Sunday in New England.
Young completed 18 of 30 passes (60%) for 150 yards (5.0 Y/A) with a touchdown.
Young has thrown for 5.0 Y/A or fewer in three of the opening four games.
The only passers with a lower yards per pass attempt than Young’s 5.2 Y/A are Joe Flacco (5.1 Y/A) and Cam Ward (4.9 Y/A).
Young has been so bad that he is tough to stream in 1QB leagues and a better QB2 option.
However, if gamers are in a dire spot given the losses of Lamar Jackson, Jordan Love, and Caleb Williams this week, Young does have matchup appeal.
This is one of those games where it is either an excellent matchup for a struggling Young or a great matchup for a struggling Miami defense.
Miami has allowed a league-high 77.6% completion rate, 8.8 yards per pass attempt (31st), and a 6.5% touchdown rate (28th).
Miami has allowed a top-five scoring week to all of Daniel Jones (29.5 points), Drake Maye (26.3 points), Josh Allen (23 points), and Justin Fields (27.1 points).
If Young cannot turn in at least a viable QB2 week here at minimum, then this offense may be broken beyond repair.
Miami has also allowed 40.8 rushing yards per game to passers (30th) with 4 rushing touchdowns.
We have not seen Young run much at all this season.
After rushing for 40 yards in Week 1, Young has 13 rushing yards over the past three weeks.
He has a 5.1% scramble rate after an 8.2% rate in 2024.
Running Back
To continue reading this article
and gain access to The Worksheet as well as all of Rich's regular fantasy content, click below to learn more about our Fantasy Package.
Learn More
More Week 5 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| 49ers @ Rams | Thursday Night Football |
| Vikings @ Browns | Sunday -- 9:30 a.m. ET |
| Raiders @ Colts | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Saints | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Cowboys @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Broncos @ Eagles | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Dolphins @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Texans @ Ravens | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Titans @ Cardinals | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Bucs @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Lions @ Bengals | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Commanders @ Chargers | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Patriots @ Bills | Sunday Night Football |
| Chiefs @ Jaguars | Monday Night Football |
