Box scores don’t always tell the complete story of how a football game was played. It’s like the Cliff Notes to a great book. You’ll get the gist of the tale being told in short order, but you miss out on the intricacies that shape it.
PFSN’s Impact Rankings Metric aims to isolate individual player and unit performances to better convey their impact than a simple stat line.
The Carolina Panthers (5-4) had several players ranked at the top of their respective positions in Week 9.
Carolina Panthers Players Littered Throughout Top 10 Rankings
The 16-13 Week 9 upset victory against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field wasn’t a glamorous affair. It took a hard-nosed, dedicated effort from the Panthers for every single one of the 60 minutes of gameplay.
Carolina was well represented in PFSN’s Impact Rankings for the week’s slate of games, having six players grade out in the top 10 of their respective positions. The collective offensive line also graded out as the No. 5 overall unit with an 82.9 score.
Speaking of the offensive line, right guard Damien Lewis had the top score among guards and the fifth-best of all offensive linemen for the week. Right tackle Yosh Nijman, who was starting in place of the injured Taylor Moton, finished with the seventh-highest score among the position.
The top NFL offensive guards in Week 9, according to PFSN's Player OL Impact Metric ⤵
1. Damien Lewis, CAR
2. Kevin Dotson, LAR
3. Dominick Puni, SF
4. Greg Van Roten, NYG
5. Jonah Jackson, CHI
6. Joe Thuney, CHI
7. Spencer Burford, SF
8. Patrick Mekari, JAX
9. Dylan Fairchild,… pic.twitter.com/GKTV3YBDgP— PFSN (@PFSN365)
In his Monday press conference, Panthers head coach Dave Canales recognized the offensive line’s importance, saying:
“Our offensive line did a great job in terms of just giving us enough time to get that first read, second possible read, and then getting the ball out. But it also speaks to the run game, being able to have that balanced attack and making yards.”
Since Canales created such a seamless segue, let’s shift our focus to that run game and RB1 Rico Dowdle. On the heels of a 130-yard rushing and two-touchdown performance, Dowdle claimed the No. 10 spot and a 78.6 RBi score in Week 9.
Don’t Forget About the Defense
With five total tackles (two TFL), one pass defensed, and one interception, NFC Defensive Player of the Week Tre’von Moehrig was PFSN’s No. 4 safety. Also from the Panthers’ secondary, cornerback Jaycee Horn landed at No. 3 on the week with an 83.3 in the CBi metric.
Linebacker Christian Rozeboom also claimed the position’s top spot with a 91.6 score. Rozeboom compiled 15 total tackles (7 solo), one pass defensed, and one fumble forced.
The Panthers will look to keep the ball rolling in Week 10 with a favorable home matchup against the 1-8 New Orleans Saints.