Sam Darnold vs. Matt Ryan: Who Will Have More Passing Yards in NFC South Showdown?

The Carolina Panthers have lost four games in a row, and in last week’s surprising loss to the New York Giants, Panthers’ head coach Matt Rhule benched quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold was awful, completing just 16 of 25 passes for 111 yards and an interception, but it was a nightmare performance all-around for Carolina.

Things have been looking better for the Atlanta Falcons, winning three of their last four games and quarterback Matt Ryan doing much of the heavy lifting. Ryan completed 25 of 40 passes for 336 yards, two touchdown passes and an interception in Atlanta’s Week 7 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Which quarterback will throw for more passing yards in Week 8: Darnold or Ryan?

WynnBET Sportsbook has Darnold’s passing yards prop set at 239.5 yards (Over -115/Under -115) and Ryan’s prop set at 280.5 passing yards (Over -115/Under -115).

Here is a statistical breakdown of Darnold and Ryan this season.

Sam Darnold vs. Matt Ryan Stat Comparison

Completion Percentage

• Darnold: 61.4%
• Ryan: 68%

Passing Yards

• Darnold: 1,685
• Ryan: 1,668

Passing Touchdowns

• Darnold: 7
• Ryan: 12

Interceptions

• Darnold: 8
• Ryan: 4

Quarterback Rating

• Darnold: 77.5
• Ryan: 96.8

This is a matchup that you can’t overthink.

Matt Ryan is averaging almost 40 more passing yards per game, and the Falcons running game has been incredibly weak, rushing for just 87.8 yards per game. Head coach Arthur Smith will continue to put the entire offense in Ryan’s hands.

Darnold has been benched recently, so the Panthers’ faith in Darnold as the signal caller could be waning. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chuba Hubbard get a heavy workload in an attempt for Carolina to churn the clock and keep the Falcons offense off the field.

Matt Ryan has been looking like vintage Matt Ryan recently, and I wouldn’t bet against that.

Ryan will have more passing yards than Darnold, and he should hit the over on his 280.5 passing yards prop in Week 8.