Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys

Titans: Run D – 17th Pass D – 21st

Cowboys: Run D – 4th Pass D – 24th

Passing:

The DVOA ranking for the Titans pass defense may be low, but they’ve allowed just 226 passing yards per game and have allowed just nine touchdowns through the air this season and that’s definitely on the low side. So if you had dreams of Dak Prescott hitting Amari Cooper on some deep routes for big scores, you may want to pump the brakes just a bit. While it’s very possible the play-action is opened up, I wouldn’t expect too many deep chances downfield. Efficient? Perhaps. Mind-blowing for a short-slate GPP? Probably not.

The Cowboys have actually given fewer yards up through the air than Tennessee, but opposing quarterbacks have worked pretty efficiently against them, posting a cumulative 98.6 passer rating. Is that enough to afford interest in Marcus Mariota ? It seems unlikely, especially considering he’s thrown just three touchdowns on the year. That’s right. Not a typo. Three. Hard to put your trust into a guy whose top receiving target is still questionable with a hamstring issue and really doesn’t have anyone else.

Rushing:

This is where we all expect the Cowboys to continue living as Ezekiel Elliott squares off with a team that allows 112.3 rushing yards per game. Their run defense grades on Pro Football Focus are middle-of-the-road at best, but they do have some pretty low tackling grades. If Zeke can plow through and get to the next level of the defense, he could be off to the races.

Heading into the bye, offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur said the even split of carries was going to change and skew more towards Dion Lewis . It’s certainly encouraging to hear, but seems a little tough to trust for this game, especially against a run D as stout as that of the Cowboys. They allow fewer than 100 yards per game and have allowed just four touchdowns on the season. Of course, Lewis is the pass-catching back and the Cowboys rank 24th in coverage against running back pass plays so if you’re looking for a dart, I’d use Lewis over Derrick Henry .

Receiving:

If the Cowboys do open up the play-action after establishing the run, I feel like Michael Gallup could be the primary beneficiary with Cooper seeing some decent targets, but tougher coverage. The Titans rank 31st in covering the opposing WR1 and based on pre-snap positions and usage, that’s been Gallup. The team is expected to use Cooper in Allen Hurns old spot. The coverage numbers do not look good for Cole Beasley or any tight ends for that matter.

Mariota has thrown for fewer than 130 yards four times this season, so getting amped up for an aerial assault is probably not in your best interest. Mariota may use Lewis as his primary target with the coverage match-ups being so tight and Corey Davis questionable with a hamstring injury. He’s going to have to get Tajae Sharpe and Taywan Taylor more active if he’s going to want to keep the defense from stacking the box, but that may just be some wishful thinking.

Carolina Panthers at Pittsburgh Steelers

*Panthers: Run D – 7th Pass D – 20th

*Steelers: Run D – 11th Pass D – 23rd

*heading into Week 9

Passing:

The Panther aren’t a heavy passing team, but Cam Newton has now thrown for an average of 245 yards and two touchdowns per game over his last three. The Steelers may have stifled Joe Flacco and the Ravens this past week, but they’re still allowing 258 passing yards per game and have given up 17 passing touchdowns. Newton also has the ability to take one or two into the end zone himself.

Ben Roethlisberger had a solid day on the road against the Ravens Sunday and could be in line for another strong performance against the Panthers who are allowing 251 passing yards per game with 17 touchdowns through the air this season. It’s tough to not lean on James Conner , but if there’s one thing Big Ben does well, it’s sling the rock at home.

Rushing:

Conner had himself another outstanding week, racking up 163 all-purpose yards with one touchdown against the Ravens and gets another strong run defense to match-up with here. The Panthers do rank 18th against running back pass plays, so we should see a similar split for the running back – 15-plus carries with 8-10 targets. He makes for a solid play, obviously, but how much can he take with such a short turnaround? The guy is averaging 22 carries per game over his last four.

Christian McCaffrey is in a similar situation with the heavy workload, but he’s not carrying the ball as often as Conner, so it may be slightly less taxing for him on the short week. He stays very heavily involved in the offense and he does have a formidable opponent this week as the Steelers allow about 90 yards per game on the ground and rank fourth in the league against running back pass plays.

Receiving:

The first match-up everyone is going to look at this week is JuJu Smith-Schuster versus Captain Munnerlyn , especially after what Adam Humphries just did to the Panthers pass defense this past week. Antonio Brown should se plenty of work as well, but this might just be a Juju week.

For the Panthers, it looks like Devin Funchess , D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel could be decent options this week as the coverage numbers for the Steelers are pretty weak. They rank 11th against the WR1, but are allowing an average of 80 yards per game to them while the WR2 and slot coverage is weaker but also with fewer yards allowed. The big one, however, could be Greg Olsen as the Steelers rank 25 in tight end coverage.