What Giants rookie QB Daniel Jones must fear against Cowboys

Titans RB Derrick Henry vs. Panthers run defense

By almost every run defense metric, Carolina is terrible. It ranks 27th in rushing yards allowed per game (135.1), 31st in rushing yards per attempt (5.0) and 32nd in rushing touchdowns allowed (12). On third or fourth down with four or less yards to go, opponents have converted 16 of 18 times against Carolina, a league-worst 88.9 percent rate (league average 65 percent). 

Carolina's run defense is especially brutal in the red zone, allowing a first down or touchdown on 43.8 percent of opponent rush attempts, the highest rate in the NFL (league average 28.9 percent). 

In a Week 8 blowout loss to the 49ers, the Panthers allowed 232 yards and five touchdowns -- the first time since Week 10 of 2017 that any offense had reached both of those marks in a game.

In Week 9, Carolina must stop human battering ram Henry, a 247-pound running back who has scored a touchdown this season on all four of his rushing attempts inside an opponent's 5-yard line. Tennessee is the only team in the league with a perfect conversion rate in that range.

Henry, a four-year veteran, has 16 rushing touchdowns inside the 5-yard line in his career, 10th most among running backs since 2016. Henry's productive rushing inside the five is one of the biggest reasons Tennessee owns the league's third-most efficient red-zone offense, scoring a touchdown on 66.7 percent of trips.

While Henry is at his best near the other team's goal line, he shows on this play that he can make things happen near his own goal line as well. Henry uses great vision to find a hole on this outside zone run, squeaking through a tight hole between his right guard and right tackle. He does a good job maintaining his stride through the traffic on the line of scrimmage, and then picks up chunks of yardage with great contact balance following a pair of diving tackle attempts.

Lions WR trio vs. Raiders pass defense

Week 9 may be a great week to play Lions QB Matthew Stafford in your fantasy league. Most pass defense metrics are grim for the Raiders, who are 29th in pass defense DVOA and 31st in pass defense EPA. The Raiders have allowed the second-highest touchdown pass rate (7.9 percent), fourth-highest opponent passer rating (115.5) and fifth-most net yards per attempt (7.8).

Drilling down, we find Oakland defensive coordinator Paul Guenther's unit is 28th in third-down defense (47.1 percent conversion rate allowed). On third-down pass plays with five or fewer yards to go, the Raiders have given up a first down 68 percent of the time, second worst behind only the anemic Falcons (league average 50.9 percent). Big plays are another pressing issue. The Raiders have been torched for 35 passing plays of 20-plus yards, an average of five per game.

The Lions have the ability to exploit all these weaknesses. Detroit ranks second in 20-plus yard passing plays per game (4.7) and seventh in passing conversion rate on third-and-5 or fewer (61.9 percent).

An impressive trio of wide receivers has helped the Lions become one of the league's most dangerous passing attacks (fifth in DVOA). Golladay, Jones and Danny Amendola are each averaging over 55 receiving yards per game -- the only trio of wide receiver teammates in the league who have done so  (minimum six games played each).

In particular, Amendola has taken the Lions' passing attack to a new level. From Weeks 2-6, Amendola averaged only 1.7 receptions for 12.3 yards in his three appearances. (He missed the Lions' game against the Chiefs.) Detroit averaged 21.3 points and 237.5 passing yards in those four games. Over the past two weeks, Amendola has become a major factor, averaging eight receptions for 100 yards on 9.5 targets. The Lions averaged 27 points and 334 passing yards in those games.

The play below showcases how the versatility of Detroit's wide receiver core allows the Lions to do damage. This is nothing flashy, but it is exactly how the Lions can pick apart Oakland's shoddy short-yardage pass defense. On third-and-2, Amendola is lined up slot left inside of Golladay. Golladay runs deep, attracting the outside corner and the single high safety. That leaves Amendola on an island with a favorable one-on-one against the slot corner, which he wins easily for a nine-yard conversion.

Golladay and Jones are among the most dangerous big-play threats in the league. Among the 78 active wide receivers with at least 200 career targets, Golladay ranks seventh in career yards per reception (15.9) and Jones ranks 17th (14.7). The player ranked 77th of those 78? That would be Amendola, whose career average is only 9.8 yards per catch.