Analyzing Week 5 fantasy performances in Panthers’ win at Falcons

Joey Slye – Carolina Panthers K

Joey Slye had a sneaky good game against Atlanta. The consistent kicker made clutch field goals from 38, 39, and 22 yards, and he made both extra-point tries.

His tally was 11 fantasy points by the end of the game. Slye has had 10+ fantasy points in three games this season. After breaking his 16 field goal “make” streak last week, he seems to be back on the road to kicker consistency.

Start or sit in Week 5?

START.

Facing a tough Bears defense, Carolina may be forced to lean on Slye’s leg the way they did against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3. The Bears and Panthers are fifth and 12th respectively in points allowed. If this is a low scoring game, kicking will be the best bet to put points on the board.

Panthers DST

The Panthers’ real life defense is playing phenomenally as the weeks go on. But in fantasy, defense and special teams must make big plays to accumulate points.

To their credit, Carolina’s defense picked off Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan once and sacked him twice, tallying five fantasy points on the day. Unfortunately, they missed a golden opportunity to get their first touchdown of the season.

Matt Rhule and the Panthers coaching staff may need to examine their special teams’ personnel moving forward, particularly at kick and punt returner. Returning a kickoff or punt for a touchdown is rare in the NFL, but wide receiver Pharoh Cooper‘s return yardage numbers are abysmal so far.

Start or sit in Week 5?

SIT.

Defenses have averaged 5.6 fantasy points a game against Chicago and while Bears quarterback Nick Foles sometimes lacks ball security, it’ll be hard to rack up fantasy points unless the Panthers can create multiple turnovers, score on defense or special teams, or keep Chicago from putting up points.