Passing Matchups Week 11

Go here for this week's Rushing Matchups.

Top 5 Passing Matchups

Green Bay vs LA Chargers

Jordan Love has faced challenges in the 2023 season, struggling with a completion rate of just 58% and averaging 6.7 yards per attempt. The Green Bay Packers' offense has had difficulties consistently moving the ball against opposing defenses. Part of the issue for the Packers is the lack of experience and consistency at the wide receiver position. The team drafted mid-round picks like Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed, but they have not yet provided the level of production expected. Luke Musgrave, at tight end has shown flashes of athleticism but is still a rookie with limited experience and has struggled with consistency. Overall, the Packers have a young receiving corps that has faced challenges, leaving Jordan Love without a reliable go-to receiver.

The Los Angeles Chargers' secondary has been a significant problem for the team in the 2023 season, and there are no signs of improvement heading into Week 11. Jared Goff recently torched the defense for 333 yards, making him the fourth quarterback to top 300 yards against the Chargers this season. The Chargers have allowed an average of 316 passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks, the highest in the NFL and significantly more than the next closest team. This poor performance is concerning, considering that the Chargers have faced some of the weaker passing attacks in the NFL, including Ryan Tannehill, Zach Wilson, Tyson Bagent, and Aidan O'Connell, and still allowed 245 yards to those quarterbacks. Cornerbacks Michael Davis and Ja'Sir Taylor have both struggled. Even Derwin James, once an All-Pro safety, has taken a significant step back in coverage despite remaining an elite run defender. The Chargers' secondary issues have persisted throughout the season.

San Francisco vs Tampa Bay

The 49ers used the bye to fix their offense after losing three straight games heading into the off week. Last week, this passing attack looked like it did early on in the season, which is a dynamic, efficient, and difficult-to-defend attack as Brock Purdy carved through the Jaguars' pass defense, throwing for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns in an effortless 34-3 victory. With four elite receiving options in Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle, it simply overwhelms defenses. It can lead to big plays, as we saw last week with George Kittle breaking off a 66-yard touchdown. Stopping those four players is not possible in one-on-one coverage. Helping Purdy is that the 49ers also have the league's best left tackle in Trent Williams. While always a Pro Bowl-level player, Williams is having a late-career emergence as the game's best tackle as the 35-year-old looks to win his third consecutive All-Pro honors.

Tampa Bay's pass defense bounced back a little bit last week, holding Will Levis and the Titans' passing offense to just 199 passing yards. It's difficult to know how much of this was the rookie quarterback compared to an improvement for the Buccaneers' defense, who had allowed 320 yards or more in three of their prior four games. The issue for the Buccaneers is that while Antoine Winfield Jr is an elite safety, they lack consistent coverage options around him. Even at the strong safety position, Ryan Neal has been a liability. This has the team searching for other options, such as playing career backup Dee Delaney at strong safety on obvious passing downs. At corner, Jamel Dean has had a strong season, but Carlton Davis has been a disappointment. Davis, who the Buccaneers signed to a massive contract prior to last season, was called out by head coach Todd Bowles, stating that the team would see no loss from Davis missing the last game as backup Zyon McCollum could cover just as well as he could.

Tennessee at Jacksonville

Will Levis and the Titans' offense struggled last week in a game that many expected to see some growth for the rookie quarterback last week against the Buccaneers. Levis completed just 49% of his passes in Week 10 and did not look comfortable throughout the game. Part of the issue has been Levis trying to force the ball to DeAndre Hopkins. In Levis's first start, Hopkins had 4 receptions on 6 targets for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns, which was his best game of the season. Since then, over the last two weeks, Levis has completed just 7 of his 20 targets to Hopkins as they seem to be trying to force the ball to him instead of letting the targets come naturally. If the defense know that a quarterback is locked onto a certain receiver, it makes it much easier to defend the pass, even if you have a very poor pass defense as the Buccaneers do.

The Jaguars' pass defense is in a bit of a freefall at this point of the season. Over the last five weeks, the Jaguars have allowed 300 yards passing or more to four of their five opponents, with the only team failing to do so being the Steelers in a game where both Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett played. The issue continues to be alarming when you factor in the quarterbacks Jacksonville has faced, as Gardner Minshew, Derek Carr, Josh Allen, and Brock Purdy/Sam Darnold all eclipsed the 300-yard mark. Even for Josh Allen, this was his only 300-yard game over his last five outings. Making matters worse, the Jaguars look like they will be without Tyson Campbell this week, which would elevate Gregory Junior, a second-year corner out of Ouachita Baptist, who played his first game of the season last week at corner. The issue for the Jaguars has been a consistent pass rush. The Jaguars have just 18 sacks on the season which is the fifth-fewest in the NFL this year. While Josh Allen is having a fantastic season, the issue is that former number-one overall pick Travon Walker continues to struggle with just 3.5 sacks. No other defensive lineman has more than a single sack on the year besides Allen and Walker.

Arizona at Houston

Kyler Murray, in his first game back, did enough to get the team their second win on the season and provide some optimism heading into the remainder of the season. While Murray completed just 59% of his passes and threw for 249 yards, he was not the bright spot for the Cardinals, as that entirely belongs to Trey McBride. For the second time in the last three weeks, McBride was dominant as this past week he had 8 receptions for 131 yards, as he caught eight of his nine targets. McBride was the first tight end selected in the 2022 draft and is starting to show the athleticism that got the Cardinals excited to take him in the second round of that draft. One player to potentially be concerned about is Marquise Brown, who had just one reception for 28 yards. There were some expectations that the receiver would get back to the levels we saw with Murray last year, and so far, that has yet to be the case. If the Cardinals do want to be consistently competitive, they are going to need one of their receivers in Brown, Rondale Moore, or Michael Wilson to emerge alongside McBride. The team also added running back Michael Carter this week, who is a much better receiver than a runner and could help in third-down situations.

Houston's secondary is starting to show some cracks. Over the last five weeks, they are allowing 306 passing yards per game, including 300-yard passing performances to Desmond Ridder, Derek Carr, and Joe Burrow over that five-game timeframe. A big reason for the recent fall-off has been the health of safety Jimmy Ward, who looks like he will miss this week with a hamstring injury. His replacement, veteran DeAndre Houston-Carson, has a liability in coverage over the last couple of weeks. This and second-year safety Jalen Pitre's struggles have led to Houston being one of the worst teams at defending the tight end position. On the year, they allow the most receptions to tight ends and the 5th-most passing yards to the position as players such as Cade Otton, Kyle Pitts, Jonnu Smith, and Evan Engram have all had strong performances against this defense. At wide receiver, there are some concerns here as well as Derek Stingley struggled in his first game back last week, which, along with the safety issues, contributed to Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd going for over 100 yards last week. Stingley, the third-overall pick in the 2022 draft, has been unable to stay on the field, playing just three games this season. After a poor rookie season, he has yet to show signs of growth in his second year.

Kansas City vs Philadelphia

The Chiefs are coming off a much-needed bye week after their passing attack has struggled the last few weeks. Over the last two games, facing Denver and Miami, the Chiefs have scored just 23 total offensive points, which is far from the elite offense performances we've seen over Patrick Mahomes II' career. The issues for the Chiefs continue to be the same: they do not have a consistent wide receiver, which has put a significant amount of pressure on Travis Kelce, who, at age 34, has seen a little more volatility than in past years. While Kelce has two games of 120 yards or more, including a 179-yard performance against the Chargers, he has not topped 70 yards in any of his other six performances, and in their last game, he had just 3 receptions for 14 yards. While Rashee Rice is averaging 42 yards per game this season, the team will need the rookie to continue to build off of the first half of his season as the Chiefs look to make another Super Bowl run.

The Eagles' secondary got a much-needed bye last week after they had fallen apart the two games prior. In those outings, Sam Howell and Dak Prescott threw for 397 and 374 yards, respectively, meaning the Eagles have now allowed four quarterbacks to throw for 300 yards or more this season as Mac Jones and Kirk Cousins did it back in Weeks 1 and 2. There are several issues in this secondary, as both James Bradberry and Darius Slay are starting to show that age is a factor, even compared to one year ago when they made up one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. However, the big issue is the slot corner position, as the team has been unable to fill the role of Avonte Maddox. Undrafted rookie Eli Ricks has been a massive liability over the last few weeks as CeeDee Lamb took advantage of the matchup every time he lined up in the slot, leading to Lamb having 191 yards receiving. At safety, the Eagles are more than equipped to matchup against Travis Kelce this week as Reed Blankenship and Kevin Byard make up one of the league's best duos after the team acquired Byard at the trade deadline. Having the bye week for the newly acquired safety should help slow some things down and acclimate him to this defense, as the two-time First Team All-Pro should make a significant impact on this defense.

Bottom 5 Passing Matchups

Pittsburgh at Cleveland

The Pittsburgh passing game has been one of the league's worst so far this season, as Kenny Pickett thus far has not shown that he can take that next step into a guy that you can build a franchise around. On the year, Pickett is averaging just 179 passing yards per game, has thrown just six touchdowns in nine games, and has not thrown for over 235 yards this season. Over the last three weeks, the offense seems to be regressing, as Pickett has not topped 160 passing yards and is averaging just 5.2 yards per attempt. The Steelers are in a tough spot here as they can't realistically move off the former first-round quarterback in his second season as the team has found ways to win at 6-3 on the year. This week, the good news for the Steelers is that they should get Pat Freiermuth back. While Freiermuth only had 13 targets in the four games he played, he is a guy that the defense will have to focus on, as he is coming off a 98-target season last year. This should open more opportunities downfield for the frustrated George Pickens, who had 127 yards against the Browns earlier this season with Freiermuth in the lineup. One thing to keep an eye on is the health of Diontae Johnson, as he missed practice on Wednesday with a thumb injury. He played the full game last week, so it seems to be just precautionary but still something to monitor. If he is out, this should also help Pickens see more volume, as his numbers have greatly fallen off with Johnson in the lineup.

The Browns will need to rely heavily on their defense for the remainder of the season with the Deshaun Watson injury news, but the good news is that this continues to be an elite defense this season. On the season, the Browns have held four quarterbacks to 125 passing yards or less (Joe Burrow, Ryan Tannehill, Brock Purdy, Clayton Tune) as their combination of elite pass rush led by Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith along with a cohesive secondary led by Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome make for a defense that seemingly has no holes. If there is one critique of this defense, it has been the big play, as they have allowed six passes that went for 40 yards or longer, and four of those turned into touchdowns. This defense allows 173 passing yards per game, which is on pace to be the lowest since the 2009 New York Jets.

Carolina vs Dallas

Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers passing game is in a tough spot this season. On the year, only the Raiders and Giants have fewer passing yards per game, as the Panthers are averaging just 185 per week. A big issue for the Panthers is that they have been unable to find consistency at the wide receiver position. While Adam Thielen was great for a four-week stretch, he has regressed back to a 33-year-old possession receiver who is averaging 9.6 yards per catch. Outside of Thielen, however, the Panthers have not been able to get any consistency from their wide receivers as Jonathan Mingo has yet to justify his second-round selection in the 2023 Draft, while Terrace Marshall, D.J. Chark Jr, and Laviska Shenault have all dealt with injuries throughout the season that have hindered their involvement. Only Thielen is averaging more than 35 receiving yards per game. The Panthers have also been sacked the 5th-most in the NFL this year. Facing an elite pass rush such as Dallas this week could make for a difficult week.

The Cowboys on the season have allowed just three quarterbacks to top 200 passing yards, and only Brock Purdy has topped 250 this season as he had 252 passing yards against the Cowboys. On the season, they allow just 184 passing yards per game, the second-best in the NFL. Even with the loss of Trevon Diggs earlier this season, they have one of the best cornerback groups in the NFL. Second-year corner Daron Bland has emerged as one of the league's best corners as the Cowboys found a gem in the 5th round of the 2022 draft. Alongside Bland, Stephon Gilmore, even at age 33, continues to play at a high level in his 12th season. For Dallas, everything is set up by the pass rush, as Demarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons are players that defenses have to game plan around to get the ball out quickly to prevent the duo from completely disrupting the game.

Buffalo vs NY Jets

The Bills are in a bit of a panic mode. At 5-5 on the season, they're far below where they expected to be, which has led them to fire offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after their Monday Night loss to Denver at home. Dorsey is likely the fall guy, as the Bills have the 7th-most yards per game and the 8th-most points per game. This offense has been killed by costly turnovers by Josh Allen, who leads the NFL in interceptions, and some unlucky outcomes in close games as they've lost all five of their games by a touchdown or less, and three of those were on final drives. This passing attack has benefitted from the growth of Dalton Kincaid, who has 50 yards or more over his last four games. However, he appears to have taken some volume away from Stefon Diggs, who has not topped 100 yards over his last four weeks. Still, adding another consistent option alongside the big play guys in Gabe Davis and Khalil Shakir makes for a very dynamic and difficult to cover offense each week.

This is a critical game for the Jets as, at 4-5, they're still clinging to hope that Aaron Rodgers could return in December if they're in contention for a playoff spot. This pass defense has been a strength of this team despite facing the league's most difficult schedule against the pass over the first nine games (Kansas City, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Dallas, Los Angeles Chargers). Throughout this difficult schedule, the Jets have allowed 185 passing yards, the third-fewest this season. No quarterback has thrown for 300 yards against the Jets, and only Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts have thrown for over 250 yards as the Jets held Patrick Mahomes II (203), Justin Herbert (136), and Josh Allen (236) to well below-average performances. While Sauce Gardner is the household name on this defense, this is a defense that is loaded with talent as D.J. Reed at corner may be having a better year than Gardner, while Jordan Whitehead at safety is having an outstanding season. Linebackers Quincy Williams and C.J. Moseley are tremendous coverage linebackers, which has been a big reason that the team has shut down most tight ends, allowing just 42 yards per game, the 10th-best in the NFL despite having faced the league's elite tight ends.

Philadelphia at Kansas City

The Eagles offense is one of the elite offenses in the NFL this season as they've scored the 3rd-most points this season, the 5th-most yards, and while only the 10th-most passing yards, that does not tell the full story. This passing attack started off a bit slow the first two weeks of the season as they failed to top 200 passing yards in those games. Since then, Jalen Hurts has averaged 283 passing yards per game, with the only game in which he did not top 275 yards was last week against the Cowboys' elite secondary. A.J. Brown has been incredible this season and is second in the NFL in receiving yards, averaging 112 yards per game. This team has the league's best offensive line, which will be critical this week as the Chiefs defense is all about getting pressure on the quarterback.

After some early season struggles, the Chiefs' pass defense has been extremely impressive this season. On the year, the Chiefs are allowing the 5th-fewest passing yards per game, but over the last two weeks, holding Russell Wilson to 114 yards and Tua Tagovailoa to 193 yards, the Chiefs have shown tremendous growth compared to the defense that struggled against Zach Wilson back in Week 4. Led by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, this is a well-coached unit that uses pressure to hide some of its flaws. The Chiefs are third in the NFL this season in sacks, and they use a variety of players to get pressure. While Chris Jones is the elite player, five players have three or more sacks for this team. At corner, they are led by Trent McDuffie, having an outstanding second season. On the other side, La'Jarius Snead is having a down season but is still incredibly talented, as we saw last year. Coming off of the bye, if Snead can get back to the player he was last season, this defense will emerge from a very good pass defense to one of the game's elite defenses.

Dallas at Carolina

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys passing attack have dominated over the last three weeks. Against the Rams, Eagles, and Giants, Dallas has topped 300 yards in each game while averaging 361 yards per game. In the prior six games, the Cowboys offense averaged 222 passing yards per game. The big difference here has been CeeDee Lamb, who has topped 150 yards in each of the last three games, along with the lack of success running the ball, which has forced the Cowboys to throw more than they otherwise would like. Tight end Jake Ferguson has scored a touchdown in each of the last three weeks and continues to lead the team in red zone targets as he now has 17 on the season, which is third amongst all tight ends. This is an offense that if Dak can continue to play as well as he has been, can be a contender in the NFC this season.

Carolina's pass defense statistically has been better than the actual defense this season. However, it has been a difficult fantasy matchup for opponents. On the season, Carolina is allowing the fourth-fewest passing yards per game and the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. A big reason for the success in Carolina has been attributed to one of the league's worst run defenses, along with an offense that is scoring just 17.0 points per game, which is the third-worst in the NFL this season. Donte Jackson leads the way in the secondary, while both Xavier Woods and Vonn Bell are reliable veterans at safety. This will be a good test for this Panthers defense that has not allowed a quarterback to top 300 yards, while only Geno Smith and Tua Tagovailoa have 250 yards or more.