2020 Dynasty/Fantasy Week 11 Game Analysis: Panthers 20, Lions 0
I take notes during the live watch. I re-watch the game on tape looking for hidden clues to report on. Here are my notes/takes on what I saw and how it related to FF 2020. I write anywhere from 1,000-3,000+ words on each game, and I must move fast to get to all of them through the week…so, please forgive any typos/grammar.
In a season of inexplicable football games…this may have won the prize for most inexplicable.
Detroit was in a must-win situation…a chance to get to .500, and staying firmly in the wild card race, and saving Matt Patricia’s job potentially (that should’ve been the clue that the Lions would lay down here).
The Panthers were losers of five in-a-row, playing a gauntlet of top teams, dealing with close losses and they pretty much fell out of the wild card race…and then word came down that Teddy Bridgewater would not be active for this game. A first-time starting QB would be making his debut.
How could the Lions lose?
Not only did the Lions, but they got shutout.
Not only did they get shutout and lose by 20, but the Panthers threw two end zone picks from short range plus missed a field goal. 20-0? Could’ve been 37-0, easily. That’s how bad this game was.
Carolina jumps up to (4-7). If they hadn’t played a killer midseason schedule, they might be a wild card this season. If Arizona loses to New England Week 12, and Carolina beats Minnesota, the Panthers would be one game behind #7 seed Arizona…with 4 games left…and with a win over Arizona already booked. It’s not over for Carolina. We see Carolina going (8-8) if they do beat Minnesota this week…with (9-7) very possible…IF they get that Vikings win.
Detroit…this likely sealed the fate of Matt Patricia. They fall to (4-6) and if they lose at home on Thanksgiving to Houston, with 10 days until their next game – that might be it for Patricia, an in-season change. The players hate him, by and large, and they show it on the field just about every week. We project Detroit to finish (6-10) at best.
Fantasy Player Notes…
-- D’Andre Swift (DNP) got a concussion at practice during the week and was unable to play this game. He’s questionable on a short week for Thanksgiving.
If he cannot go, then the pattern of usage in this game, I guess, foretells of what Detroit will do without Swift vs. Houston Week 13…
Adrian Peterson (7-18-0, 0-0-0/1) started and was in most of the game, when it mattered on 1st and 2nd-downs.
Kerryon Johnson (6-17-0, 2-21-0/5) played double the snaps as AP, but that was more in the 2nd-half and the hurry up offense as the loss unraveled. Kerryon, as per usual, looked terrible and ineffective…which matched the waste of carries AP delivers.
If Swift is out, it will be AP on 1st and 2nd-downs, Kerryon on 3rd-down…and both are awful, but Houston is a good matchup, but how awful AP-Kerryon are might trump how awful the Texans run defense is. Good luck if you have to use one of these guys.
My ‘gut feeling’ on Kerryon for this game…ends up a punch to the gut.
-- P.J. Walker (24-34 for 258 yards, 1 TD/2 INTs, 5-0-0) made his debut and looked solid. Not great, but not terrible…obviously, good enough to win an NFL football game here.
Walker was aggressive, displaying a strong arm. Overall, he looked better than the low-end NFL QBs like Flacco-Darnold-Lock-Dan Dimes-Wentz…and Tua. You’d rather have Teddy, but PJW works in a pinch. More great coaching by this Carolina staff.
Walker looked better than Matt Stafford (18-33 for 178 yards, 0 TDs/0 INTs) in this game, as well. If there is any QB that I could stand to never see play another NFL game, because they are such a waste of losing games, but throwing for numbers in a dome in garbage time/hurry up offenses – it’s Stafford, and his similar version South…Matt Ryan. Stafford couldn’t even garbage time this one it was so bad.
-- First Carolina play of the game, Mike Davis started…then play #2, in came UDFA rookie RB Rodney Smith (8-29-0). And then Smith stayed in, switched in and out with Davis early on…then fumbled and was barely seen after that.
Rodney Smith got more carries in this game, and not garbage-time mind you, than Le’Veon Bell, Leonard Fournette, Adrian Peterson, Cam Akers, Joshua Kelley, Chase Edmonds…and equaled the carries of Darrell Henderson and Todd Gurley did in their Week 11 games.
Smith may have been into a full split this game, or more had he not fumbled away a series. Just sayin’.
Smith is a solid RB, nothing special…but NFL-worthy. He would be the Mike Davis ‘cuff’. It’s odd how he was used in this game.
-- Curtis Samuel (8-70-1/10, 1-4-0) bounced back from his letdown the prior week. He now has scored 5 TDs in his past 5 games.
Are you ready for this stat?
Since Week 7, among WRs who have played 3 or more games in that span, Samuel is the #7 non-PPR WR in PPG…just ahead of D.K. Metcalf.
I kid you not.
That’s #10 in PPR in that span…just ahead of Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, D.K. Metcalf, and Adam Thielen.
I kid you not.
-- I guess DET SAF Tracy Walker (2 tackles) has finally been benched by Matt Patricia…which was rumored all preseason/worried me all preseason. He didn’t start the past two games and is playing 50% or less snaps. He’s done for IDP until further notice.
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Snap Counts of Interest:
61 = DJ Moore
50 = Robby
48 = C Samuel
52 = Mk Davis
09 = Rodney Smith
39 = Kerryon
17 = AP
50 = Marvin J
38 = M Hall
28 = Agnew
17 = Cephus
