The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 3 New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon game.
| New Orleans | Rank | @ | Carolina | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3 | Spread | 3 | ||
| 21.75 | Implied Total | 18.75 | ||
| 18.5 | 19 | Points/Gm | 20 | 15 |
| 23 | 21 | Points All./Gm | 22.5 | 18 |
| 61.5 | 20 | Plays/Gm | 52 | 30 |
| 68 | 25 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 72 | 28 |
| 5.6 | 9 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.2 | 20 |
| 5 | 9 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.3 | 4 |
| 31.71% | 30 | Rush% | 40.38% | 14 |
| 68.29% | 3 | Pass% | 59.62% | 19 |
| 50.00% | 29 | Opp. Rush % | 50.00% | 29 |
| 50.00% | 4 | Opp. Pass % | 50.00% | 4 |
- Carolina is second in the NFL in early down pass rate 67.8% in neutral game scripts.
- Just 17.1% of the Carolina first and second down plays have resulted in a first down or touchdown, the lowest rate in the league.
- Carolina is averaging needing 8.4 yards to gain on their third down plays, the most in the league.
- Opponents have scored on 47.8% of their drives versus Carolina (third highest rate) but have scored a touchdown on 13.0% (10th lowest).
- The Saints have allowed 16 sacks plus turnovers through two weeks, the second most in the league.
- 29.3% of the New Orleans passing yardage has come after the catch, the lowest rate in the league. League average is 49.9%.
Quarterback
Jameis Winston: Winston was rough this past weekend against the Bucs, completing 25-of-40 passes for 236 yards (5.9 Y/A) with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Outside of a jailbreak fourth quarter against Atlanta in Week 1, Winston has played seven quarters of bad football on the year. The only two quarterbacks below Winston’s EPA per dropback (-0.21) are Trey Lance and Dak Prescott, who have abbreviated appearances.
Carolina has allowed 10.5 passing points per game (sixth) to open the year, but they have also faced Jacoby Brissett and Daniel Jones, so grains of salt need to be applied. We have yet to see them challenged this season, but Carolina was a front-end pass defense in 2021, ranking eighth in passing points allowed per game. That includes a Week 2 game against Winston last year when he was 11-of-22 for 111 yards with two interceptions.
That was when Winston had a limited receiving corps, but Winston has not played enough good football to this point to earn our trust as more than a volatile QB2.
