Tennessee Titans vs. Carolina Panthers
Titans vs Panthers? More like Titans vs. Christian McCaffrey as McCaffrey racked up 166 scrimmage yards and 3 TDs to lead the Panthers to a 30-20 victory. The Panthers held the ball for 7 minutes longer than the Titans as Tannehill struggled to get anything going in the first 3 quarters as he was sacked 4 times and threw two INTs. The Panthers got out to a 17-0 lead and once lead 24-7 as the Titans couldn’t establish the run game like they usually set out to do. Although CMC was the star of the day, Derrick Henry, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel all had decent fantasy performances. Let’s take a look at what we saw:
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
- Ryan Tannehill: 27/39, 331 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs | 4 carries, 38 yards, 1 TD
It was a sloppy game for Ryan Tannehill and the passing offense for the Tennessee Titans in this game. Tannehill had by far his worst start this year but still managed to score once through the air and once on the ground while throwing for over 300 yards. Tannehill was sacked 4 times in this game and had one INT on an overthrow but the second one came off of the hands of A.J. Brown. Overall this offense is a lot better under Tannehill than it was under Marcus Mariota as Tannehill has been able to get consistent production out of the receivers and also throw for more than 200 yards which was a struggle for Mariota. In a good matchup, Tannehill can be a streamable QB and with a decent second-half schedule, he could be in your lineups more often than not.
Running Backs
- Derrick Henry: 13 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD | 3 targets, 3 catches, 36 yards, 1 TD
- Dion Lewis: 4 carries, 20 yards | 5 targets, 5 catches, 33 yards
Derrick Henry had a very typical day with 99 total yards and 2 TDs. For the most part, he has been the most consistent RB2 in fantasy football this year with very little upside but a safe floor. His involvement in the passing game is still very minimal but he has 2 receiving TDs on the year which is a nice bonus. The game flow wasn’t ideal in this game as the Titans were down 17-0 at halftime and 24-7 at the end of the third quarter or else Henry could have surpassed 20 carries for the 4th time this year. Due to the game flow, Dion Lewis saw a lot of time in this game but did fumble early on in the game. Lewis remains a handcuff only and is not startable week in and week out.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
- A.J. Brown: 7 targets, 4 catches, 81 yards
- Corey Davis: 5 targets, 4 catches, 48 yards
- Jonnu Smith: 5 targets, 3 catches, 18 yards
- Adam Humphries: 4 targets, 4 catches, 65 yards
Inserting Ryan Tannehill has opened up the playbook for the pass catchers in this offense. A.J Brown and Corey Davis were both top picks at the position and have both flashed with Tannehill under center. This offense revolves around Derrick Henry but having the threat to throw is huge for these receivers as they have the talent to make plays but with Mariota they weren’t given the opportunity. Brown and Davis continue to be fringe WR3’s or Flex options each week but there is plenty of upside in a good matchup or garbage time. Jonnu Smith is also a low-end TE1 while Delanie Walker is out. Adam Humphries can show up on the stat sheet each week but his production is mostly game-flow dependent.
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
- Kyle Allen: 17/32, 232 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
With the news about Cam Newton possibly heading to the IR, Kyle Allen may be the QB for the rest of the year for Carolina. The only thing we as a fantasy community need from Kyle Allen is to keep Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel fantasy relevant and so far so good. The great thing about Allen is that he isn’t afraid to take shots down the field as he hit Samuel and Moore for 32-yard passes. With Allen growing more and more comfortable as a starting NFL quarterback, Samuel and Moore may become safer starts each week. Allen could be a fine streaming QB or a bye week fill in with a good matchup but he isn’t someone that should be started each week.
Running Backs
- Christian McCaffrey: 24 carries, 146 yards, 2 TDs | 3 targets, 3 catches, 20 yards, 1 TD
- Reggie Bonnafon: 3 carries, 6 yards | 1 target, 1 catch, 7 yards
RB1. Is there anything else that needs to be said? Christian McCaffrey cannot be stopped unless he plays against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luckily for us fantasy owners he is done playing them this year and should be considered the RB1 and possibly the #1 fantasy player with his performances of late. He continues to score touchdowns in bunches and also seems to break off a long TD game in and game out. He is truly a joy to watch and has been just as impressive with Allen at the helm if not more impressive. There is no doubt that he is the RB1 moving forward no matter the matchup. Keep an eye out for Reggie Bonnafon on your waiver wire just in case something were to happen to CMC.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
- D.J. Moore: 10 targets, 7 catches, 101 yards
- Curtis Samuel: 6 targets, 3 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD
- Greg Olsen: 5 targets, 3 catches, 40 yards
D.J. Moore had arguably his best day with Kyle Allen at quarterback as he looked like the security blanket for Allen all day. Moore doesn’t have as much upside as he did with Cam but he can still be a WR2 in a good matchup. Curtis Samuel however, looks like the deep threat on this offense as he was often targeted while running a fade, go, or post route and could’ve had an even bigger game if he wasn’t interfered with on a deep go route. Samuel is a low-end WR3 because of his boom or bust plays but it looks like Allen will look his way if Samuel has a step on the defender. The whole offense runs through CMC but incorporating both Moore and Samuel should be a priority for the Panthers to play off the defensive attention CMC gets and produce some big days for these two. Greg Olsen is a low upside TE2 and doesn’t seem to have the chemistry with Allen that he did with Cam.
- Colin Weatherwax