The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 8 Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon game.
| Carolina | Rank | @ | Atlanta | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Spread | -3 | ||
| 21.5 | Implied Total | 24.5 | ||
| 20.9 | 22 | Points/Gm | 22.5 | 19 |
| 20.9 | 7 | Points All./Gm | 29.3 | 30 |
| 67.7 | 6 | Plays/Gm | 66.8 | 9 |
| 60 | 5 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 62.5 | 15 |
| 4.8 | 29 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.3 | 24 |
| 5.1 | 3 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.8 | 22 |
| 39.45% | 18 | Rush% | 36.16% | 25 |
| 60.55% | 15 | Pass% | 63.84% | 8 |
| 41.43% | 17 | Opp. Rush % | 41.07% | 15 |
| 58.57% | 16 | Opp. Pass % | 58.93% | 18 |
- Atlanta games are averaging a combined 51.8 points per game (fourth).
- Carolina games are averaging a combined 41.7 points per game (29th).
- The Panthers are now 30th in the league in expected points added per pass attempt (-0.03).
- The Panthers are averaging a league-low 2.8 yards per play on third downs, over a full yard fewer than the next worst team (Chicago) at 3.3 yards.
- Sam Darnold has completed 56.7% (59-of-104) of his non-first down passes needing seven or more yards to go, ahead of only Justin Fields (50%). Darnold has zero touchdowns and three interceptions on those throws.
- Kyle Pitts is the first rookie tight end with back-to-back games with over 100 yards receiving since 1970.
Quarterback
Matt Ryan: Ryan has averaged 300.8 passing yards per game since Week 1 with multiple passing touchdowns in each of those five games as the Atlanta passing offense is starting to come together after an early-season scare that this could be a major struggle. Ryan still has had two QB1 scoring weeks and a season-high 8.4 yards per pass attempt against this run of facing Washington, the Jets, and Dolphins.
Things should be a bit tougher here against a Carolina defense that has regressed since their hot start to the season but are still the best pass rush this Atlanta offense has seen to date. Carolina has dipped down to 13th in passing points allowed per attempt now that they have had a tougher schedule, but they are still sixth in the league in pressure rate (25.7%), the highest rate for a team the Falcons have played this year. Facing pressure, Ryan has a 56.6% completion rate and 6.2 Y/A compared to a 73.2% rate and 7.1 Y/A when kept clean. Ryan has found his footing in the new offense but is still a QB2 in a tougher matchup than what he has faced over the previous three weeks.
