Zachariah Branch — Week 2: Two Catches, Both Behind the Line
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 21
Branch drew his first two targets of the season and caught both for 14 yards: a 3-yarder in the first quarter and an 11-yarder with two minutes left, each thrown behind the line of scrimmage. He fielded four punts, three fair catches and a 7-yard return, and Olamide Zaccheaus took the kickoffs, in a 34–3 loss to the Panthers.
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34 to three, Panthers, two minutes left in the game, second and seven at the Atlanta 31. Jack Strand threw short right to Zachariah Branch, three yards behind the line of scrimmage, and Branch was pushed out at the 42 for 11 yards and a first down. +0.8 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position.
The line: two targets, two catches, 14 yards, one first down, +0.5 expected points on the targets. −7 air yards and 21 after the catch. The other one came with two 31 left in the first quarter, down 10, first and 10 at the Carolina 40: Cooper Rush short right, four yards behind the line, a gain of three. One target from each quarterback, two of Atlanta's 32 throws.
On punts he made fair catches at the Atlanta 16, 19 15, and returned one seven yards to the 36 with 10 21 left in the fourth. Olamide Zaccheaus returned all four of Atlanta's kickoffs that were brought out; in Week 1 Branch had a 64-yard kickoff return called back by a penalty.
Back in June the preview's read on Branch — a third-round rookie from Georgia, the return-job frontrunner — was that return value would be weekly and real, and receiving value would be a handful of designed touches until proven otherwise. Week 1 was four returns and no targets. Sunday was the first two targets of his season, both thrown behind the line, which is the handful the preview described and nothing more yet. Atlanta is at the Packers on Thursday the 20-fourth, a short week.
_Data via nflverse._
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