Sunday Aftermath: Panthers’ resurgence, Anthony Richardson’s struggles and more

Was the Panthers’ offense even worth saving? It doesn’t matter. Andy Dalton and Dave Canales have already done the deed. Carolina entered Week 3 averaging 3.5 yards per play, trailing everyone but the under-construction Chicago Bears. Sunday? They managed 6.2, good for fifth most on the week. These are all the same players … except for one.

Never mind what this says about Bryce Young, which is nothing good. (More than even Young’s own abysmal play, Dalton’s instant turnaround best highlights how Bryce is looking like Josh Rosen 2.0.) It shows we weren’t crazy in the summer when we looked at this roster and said “man, if Canales can help Young even a little bit, there might be some fantasy points here.”

We must always guard against the “cult of the play-caller.” Everyone has their limits. At some point, the talent is what matters. Case in point: Dave Canales with Bryce Young. But we know some are better than others (hello Matt LaFleur with Malik Willis), and Sunday, there it was. Diontae Johnson was playing in his 81st career NFL contest, and first under Canales with an actual quarterback. The result? A personal-best 122 yards receiving. For Chuba Hubbard, it was game No. 52. The stats? A career-high 169 yards from scrimmage.

Again, one game. Canales is just that good. Which doesn’t mean the production will be exponential, or even ascending. This could go down the best game of the lot. Dalton is 36 years old and a journeyman for a reason. Defenses now know they have to actually game plan for the Panthers. But gravity has been restored. Good players once again matter in Carolina. Matchups can be exploited. Fantasy football can be played. Dave Canales can be feted.

Five Week 3 Storylines

Anthony Richardson renders Colts pass catchers irrelevant. Richardson completed three passes of 25-plus yards. Good. Bad? He completed seven other total passes. This time, none of the long gains ended up in the end zone, though two ended up in the hands of the other team. Sitting on 36 total conversions while having yet to complete more than 50 percent of his throws, Richardson remains bafflingly inaccurate at the short-to-intermediate levels and curiously deadly when targeting Alec Pierce deep. If only that could be the entire offense. With Josh Downs now back to complement Michael Pittman in the short game, something has to give. Richardson is more QB2 dice roll than QB1 floor option for Week 4 against Mike Tomlin’s Steelers.

Kyren Williams becomes the offense as Rams stun 49ers. Rams football as it was meant to be played. Well, aside from the whole no fantasy viable pass catchers. Nevertheless, this is what Williams drafters were hoping for. All the touches he can handle. All the high-value touches he can carry. This, of course, was the thesis and setup that proceeded to get Cooper Kupp immediately injured in Week 2. Williams has a lengthy injury history of his own. But this is the way it’s gotta be as Kupp and Puka Nacua are both on the mend. Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers will pop up for more jump scares, but Williams is back in the top five heading into a tough Week 4 date with the Bears.

Dolphins’ offense non-functional in Tua Tagovailoa’s absence. We knew it would be bad. Some probably knew it would be this bad. But man. It was still tough to watch. Only the Browns and Patriots managed fewer yards per Week 3 play, and those aren’t teams with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane at their disposal. Playing with the awareness of a poodle, Thompson radiated the most “this ain’t it” energy in recent memory. Backup backup Tim Boyle is one of Thompson’s only real competitors in the “this ain’t it” sweepstakes, but even Boyle usually managed to get the ball to Garrett Wilson in 2023. If Thompson’s chest injury is at all serious, expect coach Mike McDaniel to use it as an opportunity to throw a Boyle (or Tyler Huntley) Hail Mary for Week 4 against the Titans.

Justin Herbert attempts to play through high-ankle sprain and, surprise surprise, gets hurt again. High-ankle sprains are painful, slow-healing maladies. NFL players are absolutely obsessed with playing through them. Herbert got what he paid for Sunday, completing 12 nondescript passes before a limp forced Jim Harbaugh to pull him from the game. His status is now very much in doubt for an early “Waterloo” contest with the Chiefs, who are the class of the NFL but also eminently beatable for an AFC West squad on the come up. But not if Herbert sits. Herbert threw away the one benefit he had with his balky ankle: Time. Now it could end up costing him a lot more of it.

Instead of breaking out vs. awful defense, D’Andre Swift further recedes. Listen, Swift isn’t getting a lot of help. Caleb Williams is struggling and the Bears’ offensive line isn’t blocking. But you have to do something against a run defense that permitted 474 yards between Weeks 1-2. Instead, Swift lowered his yards per carry to … 1.83 on the year. Unseemly. He turned a fourth down goal-line carry into a 12-yard loss. That one was probably OC Shane Waldron’s fault, but it highlights that this is not a back creating production on his own. The Bears are so desperate they turned Week 1 healthy scratch Roschon Johnson into something of a committee mate in Indy, giving the second-year pro most of the third-down and hurry-up snaps. Excelling in precisely zero areas for this struggling offense, Swift has lost top-24 benefit of the doubt and will tumble out of the FLEX ranks if he can’t do anything against the Rams’ sorry defense in Week 4.

Don’t forget, for the latest on everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, or follow @Rotoworld_FB or @RotoPat on Twitter.

Five More Week 3 Storylines

Deshaun Watson inches closer to benching. The New England Patriots understandably averaged the fewest yards per play in Week 3. They are rebuilding with zero weapons on offense. 30th? The Miami Dolphins and emergency QB Skylar Thompson. 31st? The Cleveland Browns, with one of the largest guaranteed quarterback contracts in the history of football. Deshaun Watson’s EPA per dropback, a gold standard efficiency metric, is now the lowest this century for any Browns quarterback through Weeks 1-3. This is a list that includes Brandon Weeden, DeShone Kizer, Brady Quinn, etc. It’s straight up untenable, and building toward the unthinkable: Watson’s benching. It’s tempting to say there’s no way someone this expensive could possibly lose his job, especially with alibis like the Browns’ O-line injury woes. But coach Kevin Stefanski already saw the other side with Joe Flacco. I think it’s coming, and sooner than most think possible.

Sam Darnold and the Vikings’ offense keeps cooking. As Watson stink bombs for world-historic money, Darnold rehabilitates essentially for free. Darnold’s main problem in fantasy so far? The Vikings have been too good for him to really compile. Of course, more Darnold attempts could be a “careful what you wish for.” It’s not surprising that his early thriving comes amidst Vikings defensive dominance and quarterback-friendly game script. That’s one reason Darnold’s seven combined sacks from the past two weeks is notable. What happens if Mr. Sees Ghosts himself has to play from behind? We might find out as early as Week 4 in Green Bay, where Jordan Love will be returning for the Pack. This is a great story. We also need more data points before considering putting Darnold in the top 12.

Bears pass catchers finally get online as Caleb Williams throws for 363/2. If you were watching Weeks 1-2, you know the way to beat the Colts is to run the ball. Alas, the Bears don’t have a real running game, so Williams was asked to drop back 56 times. It was a recipe for disaster for a quarterback who wilted in the obvious passing situations of his first two career starts. No more on Sunday. After a predictably slow start, Williams finally got in rhythm with fellow rookie Rome Odunze. That seemed to calm his game overall, and when the dust settled, he had found each of Odunze, DJ Moore and Cole Kmet for at least six catches for 78 yards. Williams finally started hitting the layups that are the foundation of the modern NFL passing game. For Week 4, he might actually get some of the deep shots that produce real fantasy points against the Rams’ injury-ruined defense.

Sam LaPorta’s slow start compounded by likely high-ankle sprain. LaPorta was another player who didn’t get the high-ankle memo. He attempted to play through it in Arizona before reality set in. Pain could be about to set in for fantasy managers who have endured three brutal LaPorta efforts to begin the year. His absence for any amount of time would also allow Jameson Williams to further ingratiate himself in the offense and Jared Goff’s target progressions. There are no words of hope or wisdom to offer at an already-thin tight end position that is somehow only getting more so with each passing week. Read the matchup/streamer tea leaves and pray. Remember that you could also be fighting Trey McBride fantasy managers after his Sunday concussion in the same contest.

Sean Payton flirts with new backfield allocation. Javonte Williams has yet to reach 25 yards rushing or average more than 2.9 yards per carry. Enter … third-year UDFA Tyler Badie? The former Mizzou man (MIZ) couldn’t get on the field for the RB-needy 2023 Ravens, but he was the Broncos’ best back in fourth quarter closeout mode against the Bucs. One quarter of wonky game script does not a backfield takeover make, but Payton is in “changes and accountability” mode. Anything seems possible. That could include more Badie work in Week 4 against the Jets, or an increased Blake Watson role. What seems obvious is that supposed summer draft steal Williams can no longer be treated as FLEX viable.

Questions

1. I don’t get it, we did everything right. I got Jauan Jennings 11 catches on 12 targets and we still lost! Tell me what to do, Lord.

2. Have the Chiefs ever considered playing well en route to their third straight Super Bowl title?

3. So that’s what happens when I have faith in Derek Carr once, huh…

Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)

QB: Geno Smith (@DET), Sam Darnold (@GB), Justin Fields (@IND), Andy Dalton (vs. CIN), Daniel Jones (vs. DAL)
RB: Braelon Allen, Bucky Irving, Samaje Perine, Rico Dowdle, Tyler Badie, Roschon Johnson, Emanuel Wilson, Cam Akers, Kareem Hunt
WR: Jauan Jennings, Darnell Mooney, Quentin Johnston, Jalen Nailor, DeMario Douglas, Tutu Atwell
TE: Cole Kmet, Mike Gesicki, Noah Fant, Tyler Conklin
DEF: Dolphins (vs. TEN), Titans (@MIA), Eagles (@TB), Raiders (vs. CLE), Rams (@CHI), Broncos (@NYJ)

Stats of the Week

State of scoring in the NFL, via Pat Thorman: “Week 1: 45.8 points per game. Week 2: 39.6 points per game. Week 3: 38.3 points per game. We’re going backward, you guys.”

Malik Willis combined for 275 yards rushing and passing against the Titans. That’s a number Will Levis has reached one time in his career.

Robert Mays on the Bears’ offensive struggles: “My favorite Bears stat of the season so far: Per @TruMediaSports, they’ve turned five of their 59 second-down plays into first downs this season. A cool 8.5 percent conversion rate. No other team in the league is below 18.8 percent — and that team is the Panthers.”

12.5 percent. Adonai Mitchell’s Week 3 snap rate. The dream is dead.

Via Rich Hribar: “Anthony Richardson has a lower scramble rate per pressure to start this year than Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff.” Anthony, buddy, we need to talk.

Awards Section

Week 3 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Dak Prescott, RB Saquon Barkley, RB Kyren Williams, WR Jauan Jennings (lol), WR Rashee Rice, WR Malik Nabers, TE Dallas Goedert

Week 3 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Derek Carr, RB De’Von Achane, RB Josh Jacobs, WR Brandon Aiyuk, WR Tyreek Hill, WR Zay Flowers, TE Mark Andrews

Coming up next on The Morning Hour, British Brooks: Who is the new Houston Texans football running star, and why does his singular carry in Sunday’s blowout defeat to the Minnesota Vikings signal the death of the fantasy dream for the 2024 season?

2014 AFC Finalist Banner Of The Week: Arthur Blank inserting himself into the Falcons’ Ring of Honor.