Carolina VS Chicago

The Panthers ended the Dan Quinn era in Atlanta last week and are looking to roll to a 4th straight victory vs the, if we’re being honest, pretty fraudulent Bears. Carolina has been getting better each week under first time coach Matt Rhule, Teddy Bridgewater has been as expected, Robby Anderson is looking like one of the best free agent signings of 2020, and Mike Davis has filled in admirably for injured star CMC. They’ll need all three of them to step up this week with one of the best defenses in the league coming to town. The Bears rank 5th in overall DVOA and 6th against the pass. They’re stingy through the air and also on the scoreboard, allowing only 1.72 points per drive, good for third in the league behind only Baltimore and Indianapolis. News came out today that the Panthers would be without backup center Tyler Larsen, who was placed on the Reserve/Covid list. Shorthanded on the offensive line and facing a defense that’s known to give up yards on the ground, their best bet is to use the threat of Mike Davis to open up middle of the field via play action and hope Moore, Anderson, and Samuel can break tackles and pick up chunk yards.

It’s important for Carolina to be able to put up points every week because their defense is very young and prone to mistakes. This week however, controlling the game on offense is even more essential since they’ll be without Kawann Short who had season ending surgery on his shoulder, and exciting rookie Yetur Gross-Matos who was just placed on IR. The Gross-Matos injury is particularly devastating as he’d been averaging a QB pressure every 6 pass rush snaps, a number that’s even better than some of the elite edges in the NFL like Garrett, Mack, Barrett and J. Bosa. Also Brian Burns looks to be recovered from his concussion and on track to play Sunday. Look for Zach Kerr, Efe Obada, and possibly Marquis Haynes to pick up some extra snaps in their absence.

What to Watch

This week will be about the receiving corps getting open, breaking tackles, and making plays. It’s a tough task but this is arguably the most talented group the Panthers have ever had and they’ll need all the entire group to bring their A game to secure that 4th consecutive victory.

Baltimore AT Philadelphia

The Ravens dominated Cincinnati in week 5. It was mildly surprising but shouldn’t have been considering the gap in talent on those two rosters. Even still, the Ravens offense left a bad taste in viewer’s mouths. Lamar Jackson had one of his worst games as a pro, completing barely over 50% of his passes for 180 yards 2 TDs and 1 INT while throwing several other passes that should have been picked off but weren’t. The run game was good enough although inexplicably the coaches went away from J.K. Dobbins and Devin Duvernay who accounted for over a third of the offensive production but only received a combined 7 touches. It almost feels like Baltimore doesn’t want an explosive offense, but that can’t be the case…right? I’m not sure we’ll learn much this week with the Eagles coming to town. Philadelphia has a talented and capable defense that is consistently screwed by their offense. They’re 3rd worst in the league in opponents average starting position so despite being 7th in yards allowed per drive they’re a mediocre 18th in points allowed per drive. I expect the Ravens will be able to force the Eagles offense into several mistakes and take advantage by putting up points, mostly through the run game.

Carson Wentz is a talented player, he’s athletic, he’s got a big arm, and he’s got bit of “It” about him. It’s time for him to have a seat on the bench. He’s been sacked at least 3 times in 4 of 5 games, he’s thrown 2 interceptions in 4 of 5 games, he’s at the lowest completion percentage of his career and the Eagles weren’t even able to get a win against the lowly Bengals. This is not all his fault, they’ve had massive injury woes on the offense and I believe he’s trying too hard to compensate. I think he’d benefit from taking a week or two off to get himself together and hopefully get some of his WRs and OL back. What he certainly won’t benefit from is the beating he’s going to take at the hands of the Raven defense. We may be looking at a repeat of the Cincinnati performance where by the end of the game you just feel sorry for the opposing QB. Travis Fulgham has been making the most of his opportunity as the lead man in the Eagles receiver corp but I would be sick to my stomach if he found open space in this Ravens secondary. Look for multiple turnovers and a wide margin of victory for Baltimore going into their bye.

What to Watch

The Ravens receivers have to perform. Rumors are swirling about Julio Jones coming to town and when you watch this group, there’s no arguing against it. Hollywood has been fine, Mark Andrews has been fine, but that’s it. Boykin in particular needs a career game this weekend to justify staying on the field moving forward. This week we’re watching to find out if the young guys can get it done or if Baltimore will have to look outside the organization (again) to solve their pass catcher problem.

Week 6 Picks (coming Sunday)

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