Carolina Panthers - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Cam Newton or Drew Brees?

by Mike Rose

1/5/18

NFL

Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton

After facing off in two NFC South matchups during the regular season, Carolina and New Orleans will meet for a third and final time when Drew Brees and the Saints welcome Cam Newton and the Panthers into the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday afternoon.

The first two contests featured Brees outplaying Newton as the Saints swept the season series. With a spot into the next round on the line, both starting quarterbacks will look to be at the top of their game and take their team further into the playoffs.

Fantasy Matchup: Cam Newton (18.5 PFP) vs. Drew Brees (17.0 PFP)

Newton has averaged 18.5 Dober Fantasy Points per game this season, which is a higher mark than Brees, so he enters this matchup as a 1.5-point favorite. In their meetings during the regular season, Newton averaged 24.2 Dober Fantasy Points per game while Brees put up just under 15.0 DFP at 14.93.

For the season, Newton has thrown for 3,302 yards with a poor 22-to-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He played to a quarterback rating of over 100 five times as he finished as the No. 2 passer in fantasy in 2017. He also added six touchdowns on the ground and 754 rushing yards. In two games against the Saints, he threw for 350 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 64.2 percent of his passes.

The Saints defense finished No. 15 in passing yards allowed per game (224.8) while Carolina’s passing attack finished No. 5 in yards per game with 261.8 despite Newton struggling down the stretch. Five of the last six games of the season, he threw for 183 yards or less.

Newton’s best performances have come at home this season, but his standout games on the road occurred against New England, Detroit and the same New Orleans team he’ll face Sunday. He tallied 34.04, 27.2 and 27.98 Dober Fantasy Points in those matchups, respectively. Despite playing well in both games against the Saints in the regular season, the Panthers will look to avenge both losses to New Orleans this weekend and advance in the dance.

Brees, on the other hand, has had a much better season than Newton. He threw for 4,334 yards with a great 23-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also added two rushing touchdowns while completing 72 percent of his passes. In his two performances against Carolina, he threw for 489 yards and four scores. He didn’t toss a single interception in the two contests and had a fantastic passer rating of 117.8 while completing 74.6 percent of his throws. If that wasn’t good enough, he compiled a passer rating over 100 an incredible 11 times during the year.

With Brees running the show alongside a prolific running attack, the Saints should have no problem winning this game. Brees is the obvious choice with Newton struggling like he has over the past couple months. Go with Brees for your Dober Play Card when it comes to this matchup.

Wild Card Playoff Fantasy Matchup: Drew Brees (+1.5) vs. Cam Newton