The Carolina Panthers will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Miles Sanders.
Is Miles Sanders Playing in Week 18?
Last Updated Sunday at 11:30 AM
Sanders is active for today's game
With Chuba Hubbard out, the Panthers were forced to go with Raheem Blackshear and Mike Boone last week. It looks like they will get Sanders back from his ankle sprain this week, though.
He was designated to return from IR and practiced in full on Wednesday and Friday around a limited session on Thursday. He carries a questionable designation for what would be his first appearance since Week 10.
Should You Start or Sit Miles Sanders in Week 18?
Sanders (ankle) averaged 3.3 yards per carry last season and wasn’t efficient this year in his limited work before landing on IR (3.7 yards per carry on 38 carries) ahead of Week 11.
Chuba Hubbard vacates plenty of volume, but how valuable is this role really? Hubbard has produced below expectations on a per-touch basis, and if the touch distribution is unknown, assigning value to any backup RB is a risk I’m not willing to take.
The scoring equity is limited in this Carolina offense as is, and that certainly doesn’t change when playing a motivated Falcons team looking to win the division. Sanders has scored just twice on 215 touches with the franchise; if he can’t add to that total, you’re swimming upstream to mine top-30 value from anyone in this backfield.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 18 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Miles Sanders’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Sanders is projected to score 0 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 0 rushing attempts for 0 yards and 0 touchdowns. It also includes 0 receptions for 0 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Falcons' Defense
This unit would rank much higher if it could face the Raiders and Giants every week. Those cupcake offenses resulted in the Falcons posting two of their four highest grades this season, but things came crashing back down in the Week 17 overtime loss to Washington.
Atlanta recorded a 70.9 (C-) grade, the team's seventh-worst of the year. The defense had a particularly difficult time containing Jayden Daniels' scrambling, conceding a -7.91 total EPA on scrambles, the fifth-most allowed on scrambles by any defense all season.
Atlanta's improving pass rush did exploit an injury-depleted Commanders offensive line, recording five more sacks. The Falcons have the highest sack rate in the NFL (11.2%) since Week 13 after ranking last in that category over the first 12 weeks.
Unfortunately, the rest of the unit is still lacking, which typically reveals itself against better offenses. That came to fruition in Washington, and it could cost the Falcons the division.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Miles Sanders’ Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 RB PPR Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson | ATL (vs. CAR)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (vs. CLE)
4) Jonathan Taylor | IND (vs. JAX)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (vs. CHI)
6) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. NO)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (at PIT)
8) Aaron Jones | MIN (at DET)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at NYJ)
10) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at LAR)
11) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
12) Breece Hall | NYJ (vs. MIA)
13) Ray Davis | BUF (at NE)
14) D'Andre Swift | CHI (at GB)
15) Rico Dowdle | DAL (vs. WAS)
16) Isaac Guerendo | SF (at ARI)
17) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at LV)
18) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. CIN)
19) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (vs. KC)
20) Joe Mixon | HOU (at TEN)
21) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (at PHI)
22) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. SEA)
24) Tank Bigsby | JAX (at IND)
25) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. CIN)
26) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (at IND)
27) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. BUF)
28) Michael Carter | ARI (vs. SF)
29) Rachaad White | TB (vs. NO)
30) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (at BAL)
31) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at LV)
32) Miles Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
33) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (vs. CAR)
34) Audric Estimé | DEN (vs. KC)
35) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. NYG)
36) Alexander Mattison | LV (vs. LAC)
37) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. BUF)
38) Javonte Williams | DEN (vs. KC)
39) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at ATL)
40) Ty Johnson | BUF (at NE)
41) Devin Singletary | NYG (at PHI)
42) Cam Akers | MIN (at DET)
43) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at NYJ)
44) Roschon Johnson | CHI (at GB)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. MIN)
46) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at LAR)
47) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DAL)
48) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. CIN)
49) Braelon Allen | NYJ (vs. MIA)
50) Julius Chestnut | TEN (vs. HOU)
51) Samaje Perine | KC (at DEN)
52) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (at ARI)
53) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. NO)
54) Jamaal Williams | NO (at TB)
55) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (vs. MIA)
56) Chris Brooks | GB (vs. CHI)
57) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (at BAL)
58) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | NO (at TB)
59) Emanuel Wilson | GB (vs. CHI)
60) Mike Boone | CAR (at ATL)
61) Tony Pollard | TEN (vs. HOU)
62) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (vs. SF)
63) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
64) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at TEN)
65) Rasheen Ali | BAL (vs. CLE)
66) Khalil Herbert | CIN (at PIT)
67) Trey Sermon | IND (vs. JAX)
68) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at LV)
69) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (at ARI)
70) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
71) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at NYJ)
72) Carson Steele | KC (at DEN)
73) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. MIN)
74) Hunter Luepke | DAL (vs. WAS)
75) Tyler Goodson | IND (vs. JAX)
76) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (at ARI)
77) Alec Ingold | MIA (at NYJ)
78) C.J. Ham | MIN (at DET)
79) Michael Burton | DEN (vs. KC)
80) D'Ernest Johnson | JAX (at IND)
81) Jeff Wilson Jr. | MIA (at NYJ)
82) Eric Gray | NYG (at PHI)
83) Jermar Jefferson | DET (vs. MIN)
84) Patrick Ricard | BAL (vs. CLE)
85) Joshua Kelley | NYG (at PHI)
86) Ty Chandler | MIN (at DET)
87) Israel Abanikanda | SF (at ARI)
88) Adam Prentice | NO (at TB)
89) Dylan Laube | LV (vs. LAC)
90) JaMycal Hasty | NE (vs. BUF)
91) George Holani | SEA (at LAR)
92) James Cook | BUF (at NE)
Panthers at Falcons Trends and Insights
Carolina Panthers
Team: The Panthers have lost at least a dozen games in three of the past four seasons, doubling the number of such seasons they had in franchise history prior (the extended regular season plays into that, but a loss next week would give this team back-to-back four-win seasons, and they only had three such seasons prior).
QB: Bryce Young has thrown multiple touchdown passes without an interception in consecutive games—he had one such game on his NFL resume prior.
Offense: Carolina has consecutive games without committing a turnover, doubling their season total in the process.
Defense: In Weeks 1-15, opponents averaged 34.6 yards per drive against the Panthers – on Sunday, the Buccaneers averaged 61.8.
Fantasy: The Adam Thielen experience has been a unique one over the past two seasons, as it has featured two hot streaks (11 games) and below-average production otherwise (16 games):
- Hot Streaks: 21.4 PPG, 25.5% over expectation
- Otherwise: 8.4 PPG, 9.9% below expectation
Betting: Over tickets have cashed in five of Carolina’s past six games.
Atlanta Falcons
Team: The Falcons scored 24 points and lost on Sunday night, snapping an eight-game winning streak when they've scored at least 22 points.
QB: Atlanta has thrown an interception in seven straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL and the team’s longest streak since opening the 2003 season with eight straight.
Offense: Bijan Robinson has four games this season with multiple rushing TDs, tied for the most in a season in Falcons history (1973 Eddie Ray, 1984 Gerald Riggs, and 2008 Michael Turner).
Defense: Sunday was the seventh time this season in which the Falcons allowed points on at least half of their opponents’ drives.
Fantasy: It’s a small sample, but there has been an increase in the running room for Bijan Robinson under Michael Penix Jr.:
- Desmond Ridder under center: 2.71 yards per carry before contact
- Kirk Cousins under center: 2.99 yards per carry before contact
- Penix under center: 3.13 yards per carry before contact
Betting: Atlanta’s 36-30 win in Week 5 against Tampa Bay (36-30) soared over the 44-point total – their past four home games have all gone under the closing total.