• Chuba Hubbard with a career day: The Carolina Panthers running back signed a contract extension this week and thanked the Panthers with 80 rushing yards in the first quarter and a career-high in yards by the third quarter.

• Young receivers have quiet days: The New York Giants and Carolina Panthers have rookies in their top wide receiver and top tight end spot, but none have achieved over 50 receiving yards.

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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

New York Giants @ Carolina Panthers

• Chuba Hubbard: 28 carries, 153 yards, 1 touchdown, 4 receptions, 16 receiving yards
• Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 18 carries, 103 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 reception, 1 receiving yard

Monitor Miles Sanders’s health: The Panthers backup running back suffered an ankle injury early in the second quarter and didn’t return.

The Panthers started the game with their usual running back rotation. Chuba Hubbard played most early downs, while Sanders took third downs and near the end of longer drives to give Hubbard a rest. His injury occurred early in the fourth drive. He needed the cart and was immediately ruled doubtful, which is not a great sign for the severity of the injury.

Hubbard took over for the rest of the game, while Raheem Blackshear played a rare snap. This was reportedly going to be Jonathon Brooks’ first game after suffering an ACL tear one year ago to the week, but the Panthers opted to make him inactive. The Panthers have their bye week next week. There was a chance that Brooks would be active and play minimal snaps, but with Sanders’ injury, it is more likely that Brooks will have a decent role in the offense.

Hubbard has been playing very well this season, including this game, leading to a four-year contract extension. This makes it unlikely Brooks will have significant fantasy value this season unless Hubbard also suffers an injury. It also puts into doubt how high Brooks’ ceiling will be in 2025.

Jonathan Mingo traded to the Dallas Cowboys: The second wide receiver departure in recent weeks simplified the Panthers wide receiver rotation.

First, Diontae Johnson was traded to the Baltimore Ravens, and now Mingo is in Dallas after the trade deadline. Xavier Legette has spent all season at one outside receiver spot, while the Johnson trade has pushed David Moore into a starting role. Jalen Coker had been rotating with Mingo, but the trade allowed Coker to see an increase in snaps. Along with playing in the slot, he also took some two-receiver sets.

The big question is what the Panthers will do once Adam Thielen is back. He’s been on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury. His practice window opened two and a half weeks ago, and the Panthers will need to activate him by the middle of the week for him to play again this season. 

The most likely case is that he takes time from both Moore from the outside and Coker in the slot. There is a chance he completely takes Coker’s spot in the slot, as Thielen had that role when he was healthy. There is also a chance Thielen moves back to an outside receiver, which he was throughout his career with the Minnesota Vikings. This would leave Legette and Thielen on the outside and Coker in the slot.

Monitor Ian Thomas’ health: The run-blocking tight end left at the end of the first quarter and didn’t return.

The Panthers were already down one tight end, as Tommy Tremble was dealing with a back injury. Over the last six weeks, including Sunday, he’s missed four games and left early in the other two. While Ja’Tavion Sanders has played well at times this season, Tremble has consistently been the lead tight end when healthy this season.

The Panthers started this game with a heavy rotation of their two tight ends. Sanders and Thomas played 13 of a possible 20 snaps each over the first three drives. After the injury, the Panthers were largely stuck with 11 personnel. Sanders was the single tight end.

Sanders has scored at least eight PPR points in four of his last five games and could be worth considering off the waiver wire, but he is risky because he could see a reduced role whenever Tremble is back.

Monitor Malik Nabers’ health: While Nabers was able to play throughout the game, he seemed to be dealing with a hamstring injury.

In the second half, the commentators mentioned that Nabers was dealing with a hamstring injury, and as the weather cooled down, it seemed to have a larger impact on him. He also was down after a catch and went into concussion protocol, but he quickly passed and returned to the game.

The Giants were already down one of their outside wide receivers, and Darius Slayton was inactive after suffering a concussion last week. This moved Jalin Hyatt into the starting lineup. Former starter Isaiah Hodgins was called off the practice squad and was the primary backup wide receiver. This did not impact Wan’Dale Robinson, who continued to play in three-receiver sets.

The Giants have their bye week next week, which should give Nabers and Slayton enough time to recover. The Giants have one of the best remaining schedules for wide receivers, so both Nabers and Slayton could have a lot of fantasy value if they are closer to 100%.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Tyrone Tracy Jr. has run at least 16 times in five of his last six games. The Giants’ next three opponents are top 10 at allowing fantasy points to running backs.
• The Panthers elevated Deven Thompkins off the practice squad for this game. He was the team’s fourth wide receiver when someone needed a play off.
• The Giants’ backup wide receiver, Bryce Ford-Wheaton, was inactive for a second straight game due to an Achilles injury. He has mostly played special teams this season, with two total offensive snaps.

New England Patriots @ Chicago Bears

Coming soon!

Buffalo Bills @ Indianapolis Colts

Coming soon!

Minnesota Vikings @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Coming soon!

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs

Coming soon!

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints

Coming soon!

San Francisco 49ers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Coming soon!

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Washington Commanders

Coming soon!

Tennessee Titans @ Los Angeles Chargers

Coming soon!

New York Jets @ Arizona Cardinals

Coming soon!

Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys

Coming soon!

Detroit Lions @ Houston Texans

Coming soon!

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.