The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 4 matchup between the Panthers and Vikings.
Find a breakdown of every Week 4 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Minnesota | Rank | @ | Carolina | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3.5 | Spread | 3.5 | ||
| 24.5 | Implied Total | 21.0 | ||
| 23.0 | 15 | Points/Gm | 18.0 | 24 |
| 27.3 | 26 | Points All./Gm | 27.0 | 25 |
| 65.3 | 18 | Plays/Gm | 67.7 | 10 |
| 69.0 | 25 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 64.3 | 17 |
| 6.2 | 2 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.4 | 27 |
| 5.5 | 25 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.1 | 14 |
| 25.51% | 32 | Rush% | 32.02% | 30 |
| 74.49% | 1 | Pass% | 67.98% | 3 |
| 46.38% | 26 | Opp. Rush % | 47.67% | 28 |
| 53.62% | 7 | Opp. Pass % | 52.33% | 5 |
- 81.8% (9-of-11) of Minnesota scoring plays have been touchdowns, the highest rate in the league.
- Minnesota has turned the ball over 24.2% of their possessions, 31st in the league.
- Carolina is 31st in EPA as a run defense (-9.7 points), ahead of only Denver.
- The Vikings have blitzed on a league-high 63.9% of opponent dropbacks. The League average is 27.1%.
- Minnesota has gotten pressure on just 31.6% of blitzes, 28th in the league. The league average is 43.9%.
- The Vikings have gotten pressure on 20.9% of dropbacks when they have not blitzed, 31st in the league.
- Carolina has allowed pressure on 45.5% of their dropbacks, 28th in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Kirk Cousins: Cousins has opened the year as a top-10 scorer in all three weeks this season, completing over 30 passes for over 340 yards in every contest.
He also has multiple passing touchdowns in all three games.
Minnesota has once again been forced to play catchup on the scoreboard this season since they have trailed for 73.5% of their offensive snaps, 28th in the NFL.
Carolina has led for just 7.9% of their offensive snaps, 30th in the league. Cousins may not be tasked to push 50 pass attempts here, especially if Bryce Young starts.
That said, neither this Minnesota defense nor their running game can be reliably counted on to the degree of their passing offense.
If Minnesota is going to score points, their best source of offense is still through their passing game.
Minnesota has faced two of the highest-scoring teams in the league the past two weeks in Philadelphia and the Chargers. We will need some pushback here, but remember that the Buccaneers beat them in Week 1.
The Panthers have opened the season facing Desmond Ridder, Derek Carr, and Geno Smith, but they have held their own through a plethora of injuries on that side of the ball.
After losing Jaycee Horn in Week 1, the Panthers could enter this weekend without Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu, and C.J. Henderson on top of things.
Through all of the moving pieces, Carolina is 14th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.350) and 10th in passing points allowed per game (10.6).
I do expect some natural regression for passing volume here, but Cousins is still a back-end QB1 with upside should this Minnesota defense continue to perform as poorly as it has to open the season.
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