5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 14

Carolina Panthers' Rushing Offense

Context is not going to be a positive for the Carolina Panthers as they hit the road to face the Cleveland Browns. Cam Newton got taken out of last week's game for a Hail Mary heave and has been limited in practice this week. If Newton were to be hurt, that would be a downgrade for the entire offense.

That may not be enough to slow Christian McCaffrey, though.

This injury for Newton is far from being a new ailment. He first popped up on the injury report back in Week 8 and has been getting held back in early-week practices ever since. Even with Newton clearly not at full health, McCaffrey has still been scorching the souls of opposing defenses.

From Week 8 on, McCaffrey has averaged 80.8 rushing yards and 62.3 receiving yards per game, totaling 10 touchdowns in that time. He has had 50 or more receiving yards in five straight games, and there's really no reason to think that'll stop soon.

Not only did this surge for McCaffrey come right as Newton's shoulder started to bug him, but it also overlapped with when injuries started to mount for the Panthers' pass-catchers. The first was Torrey Smith, followed by Devin Funchess and now Greg Olsen, who is done for the year. McCaffrey's role in the passing game has been simply massive through all of this.

McCaffrey's basically getting Edelman-esque work as a receiver in addition to his volume as a rusher. Delectable.

This week, McCaffrey adds a plus matchup, as well. The Browns rank 22nd in Success Rate allowed to opposing backs, according to numberFire's Brandon Gdula. This means that backs are moving the ball consistently against them on the ground. It has led to some pretty big games for opposing rushers.

Last week, Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue combined to turn 32 rushes into 157 rushing yards. Joe Mixon had 89 yards on just 14 carries the week before that, and both of those games came after the Browns got linebacker Joe Schobert back from injury.

The team has struggled against pass-catching backs all season long, as well. They've allowed six different running backs to go for at least 50 receiving yards in a game against them, and only one of those players had more than six targets along the way. With McCaffrey averaging 7.7 per game over the past six, he's pretty much a lock to get big yardage in this spot.

The only true question with McCaffrey is where you view him relative to Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott has also been getting a massive workload of late, and he's favored at home. There's a lot to like with what he offers.

If forced to choose one, Elliott would likely be the wiser choice because his quarterback isn't dealing with an injury, and being a home favorite is always a desirable trait for a running back. But with all the value at receiver this week, it's very possible you can fit in both Elliott and McCaffrey, and that could easily be the most profitable strategy for this specific slate.