Carolina Panthers fantasy football outlook for Week 6 vs. Vikings

Which Carolina Panthers players should you start or sit in fantasy football during their Week 6 game against the Minnesota Vikings?

No need to sugarcoat anything, the Carolina Panthers have failed to prove they’re “for real” after a surprising 3-0 start. Against the Dallas Cowboys, Phil Snow’s defense didn’t live up to the hype, giving up 433 total yards.

Hosting the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday, the defense bounced back, but the offense was terrible, especially in the passing game.

Now, Carolina has put itself behind the proverbial 8-ball as they face the frisky Minnesota Vikings at home. If the Panthers can get the win and move to 4-2, the outlook of their season will be much brighter than if they drop to 3-3.

We’ll get into fantasy numbers later, but it can’t be stated enough how critical this game is for the future of Sam Darnold in a Panthers uniform. While nobody is mistaking him for an elite quarterback, the franchise signal-callers find ways to win  – or put their team in a position to win – games in the end.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins provided the perfect example of this week last Sunday against the Detroit Lions by driving Minnesota down the field to set up the game-winning field goal.

We know Cousins is no world-beater, but those games are part of the reason the Vikings have kept him around, and frankly, Darnold can afford to take notes. Now, I’ll tell you who to start and sit in fantasy ahead of Sunday’s game at Bank of America Stadium.

Note: All fantasy point totals are based on NFL.com’s scoring system.