The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 17 matchup between the Panthers and Seahawks.
Find a breakdown of every Week 17 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Seattle | Rank | @ | Carolina | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -7.0 | Spread | 7.0 | ||
| 24.75 | Implied Total | 17.75 | ||
| 29.5 | 3 | Points/Gm | 19.1 | 27 |
| 18.6 | 2 | Points All./Gm | 22.5 | 13 |
| 58.8 | 26 | Plays/Gm | 60.7 | 21 |
| 64.7 | 29 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 58.9 | 6 |
| 6 | 3 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.1 | 24 |
| 4.7 | 2 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.6 | 24 |
| 48.98% | 3 | Rush% | 46.26% | 9 |
| 51.02% | 30 | Pass% | 53.74% | 24 |
| 39.13% | 3 | Opp. Rush % | 45.36% | 23 |
| 60.87% | 30 | Opp. Pass % | 54.64% | 10 |
- The Seahawks have scored 85 more points than their implied team totals, the most in the league.
- The Seahawks lead the NFL with 7 non-offensive touchdowns.
- Carolina has a 33.6% success rate on rushing plays over their past six games, 31st in the league.
- Carolina has converted 7.1% fewer third downs than their opponents, 30th in the league.
- Seattle is averaging 2.6 more yards per passing play than their opponent, the best differential in the league.
- Carolina averages -0.9 yards per passing play than their opponent, 27th in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: Thursday was setting up as another letdown for Darnold against the Rams.
Through three quarters and the opening drive of the fourth, Darnold was 14 of 22 for 179 yards with 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
He then went 8 of 12 for 91 yards with 2 touchdowns to close out the game and through overtime, getting a 38-37 win on a two-point conversion.
Darnold rallied for a QB9 (19.5 points) scoring week.
This is another matchup where I prefer to use Darnold as a higher-end QB2 and take any upside that comes along.
Carolina is not an overly imposing defense, based on personnel or pass rush, but they are allowing 11.9 passing points per game (7th).
They have allowed one QB1 scorer since Week 8 despite facing Matthew Stafford (11.6 points), Brock Purdy (7.3 points), and Jordan Love (9.0 points) during that run.
Apparently, the only quarterback they cannot stop is Tyler Shough.
Jest aside, Carolina has also been strong at slowing down the things the Seattle passing game is good at.
The Panthers have allowed a league-low 5.3 yards per attempt on play-action passes this season with a first down or touchdown on a league-low 27.9% of those passes.
Darnold leads the league in yards per pass attempt (12.1 Y/A) and yards per completion (17.8 yards) with a 10.3% touchdown rate (2nd) using play action.
Bryce Young: Young finished as the QB13 (17.6 points) on Sunday, completing 21 of 32 passes (65.6%) for 191 yards (6.0 Y/A) with 2 touchdowns.
He added 20 yards rushing.
Young did not set anything on fire in the yardage department, but Dave Canales did get the memo, attacking the Bucs through the air and not overly relying on a dormant ground game.
Carolina only threw the ball 1% over expectations on Sunday, but they were 10% over expectations on first downs.
Over the past five weeks, Young has thrown 10 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.
Working his way back into viable QB2 range with upside, this is a spot where Young is still best kept as a QB2.
Even after getting lit up by Matthew Stafford on Thursday, Seattle is still fourth in passing points allowed per attempt (0.349), allowing a 62.3% completion rate (7th), a league-low 6.3 yards per attempt, and a 3.6% touchdown rate (6th).
Seattle had a host of injuries last week, with Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant, and Riq Woolen leaving the game, but only Bryant is expected to miss time moving forward.
Running Back
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More Week 17 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Cowboys @ Commanders | Christmas Day |
| Lions @ Vikings | Christmas Day |
| Broncos @ Chiefs | Christmas Day |
| Texans @ Chargers | Saturday -- 4:30 p.m. ET |
| Ravens @ Packers | Saturday -- 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Steelers @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jaguars @ Colts | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bucs @ Dolphins | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Patriots @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Seahawks @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Raiders | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Eagles @ Bills | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ 49ers | Sunday Night Football |
| Rams @ Falcons | Monday Night Football |
