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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5 | Spread | -4.5 | ||
| 18.75 | Implied Total | 23.25 | ||
| 17.7 | 26 | Points/Gm | 23.3 | 12 |
| 21.3 | 17 | Points All./Gm | 24.4 | 24 |
| 53.3 | 32 | Plays/Gm | 56.9 | 30 |
| 66.9 | 29 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 65.4 | 27 |
| 5.1 | 25 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.4 | 15 |
| 5.3 | 10 | Def. Yards/Play | 6.2 | 31 |
| 40.48% | 16 | Rush% | 58.04% | 2 |
| 59.52% | 17 | Pass% | 41.96% | 31 |
| 43.80% | 23 | Opp. Rush % | 35.59% | 4 |
| 56.20% | 10 | Opp. Pass % | 64.41% | 29 |
- 41.6% of the Carolina drives have ended without a first down or touchdown, the highest rate in the league.
- 23.2% of the Atlanta drives have ended without a first down or touchdown, the second-lowest rate in the league.
- The Falcons are allowing 40.4 yards per drive, the most in the league.
- Carolina is averaging 24.7 yards per drive, the fewest in the league.
- 41.6% of the Carolina drives have ended without a first down or touchdown, the highest rate in the league.
Quarterback
Marcus Mariota: After back-to-back top-10 scoring weeks, Mariota was the QB18 this past week with 12.1 fantasy points. He was once again stifled by his own coaching staff, completing 8-of-13 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown while rushing six times for 31 yards.
Mariota did average 9.5 yards per pass attempt since one of those attempts was a 75-yard touchdown to Damiere Byrd, but Atlanta once again showed no interest in pressing things through the air. The Falcons were 19% below pass rate expectation this past Sunday, now sitting at 12% below pass rate expectation for the season. Mariota has been forced to live as a hyper-efficient passer since he has not even thrown for more than 147 yards in a game since Week 3.
The most appealing part of Mariota’s output is that he is averaging 6.0 rushing points per game with at least 3.0 rushing points in five of the seven games this season.
With Atlanta sitting as favorites here, it is hard to anticipate them having to push the ball through the air here, leaving Mariota as a floor-based QB2 due to his rushing upside.
Carolina has been good against the pass, allowing 0.36 passing points per attempt (ninth) and 6.6 yards per attempt (eighth).