What It Means:

P.J. Walker is dealing with a high-ankle sprain, so Mayfield will make his first start since Week 5. Considering how poorly Mayfield played to start the season, his return is probably a downgrade for D.J. Moore and Terrace Marshall. The Panthers will likely try to lean on the running game more with D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard, at least as much as the game script allows.

Among the 38 quarterbacks with at least 90 drop backs this season, Mayfield is seventh-worst (negative-0.07) and Walker is second-worst (negative-0.12) in Passing Net Expected Points per attempt. However, Moore averaged 7.6 FanDuel points per game with Mayfield as a starter, compared to 10.2 with Walker.