Pros
- The Carolina Panthers boast a new play-caller this year in offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, and THE BLITZ projects their pass/run mix to tilt 4.8% more towards passing than it did last year (context-neutralized).
- The Panthers are a 3-point underdog in this week’s game, likely creating a passing game script.
- The weather report calls for 4-mph wind in this game. Low wind generally means increased pass volume, increased touchdown potential, and increased passing efficiency.
- Adam Thielen has run a route on 90.8% of his team’s dropbacks since the start of last season, ranking him in the 84th percentile among wideouts.
- The Carolina Panthers O-line profiles as the 7th-best in football since the start of last season in protecting the quarterback, which has a strong effect on all passing attack metrics across the board.
Cons
- THE BLITZ projects the Carolina Panthers to be the 10th-least pass-centric offense among all teams this week with a 55.7% pass rate, given their underlying tendencies and matchup dynamics.
- THE BLITZ projects this game to see the 2nd-lowest volume of plays run among all games this week at 127.7 plays, given the tendencies of each team and game dynamics.
- The Carolina Panthers have run the least plays in football since the start of last season, totaling a lowly 54.0 plays per game.
- Adam Thielen has been among the worst wideouts in football at generating extra yardage, averaging a lowly 2.00 yards-after-the-catch (YAC) since the start of last season while checking in at the 14th percentile.
- The New Orleans Saints defense has conceded the 7th-least receiving yards per game in the NFL (just 130.0) vs. wide receivers since the start of last season.
Projection
THE BLITZ
36
Receiving Yards