Carolina Panthers: Will Christian McCaffrey Pick Up The Slack Against Cards?
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Christian McCaffrey rushed the ball 16 times for 37 yards and caught only two passes for 16 yards. He needs to do more against the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday.
With Cam Newton out, the Panthers will rely on the playmaking ability that McCaffrey brings to the table. This is the same player, many expect can become the first player since Marshall Faulk to have 1000-yard receiving and rushing this year.
According to Joshua Altorfer of Cat Crave, the Cardinals’ defense is ready.
The Cardinals have actually played well against opposing running backs early on this year.
In Week 1 they faced running back Kerryon Johnson and gave up only 49-yards on the ground to him. In Week 2 they played the run-heavy Ravens and only let Mark Ingram rush for 47-yards.
But even with that said, the Carolina Panthers will start an unproven QB, which means McCaffrey will get his fair share of touches out the backfield as both a rusher and receiver.
Altorfer would also go on to mention that while the Cardinals have put the clamps on Ingram and Johnson n their first two weeks, neither payer is like McCaffrey.
Neither of these backs possesses the talent that McCaffrey does, nor do their teams rely on them as much as the Panthers do with CMC. McCaffrey is definitely set up to bounce back and run wild against the Arizona defense. Nonetheless, the early success they have had stopping the run puts that possibility in question.
This should be a good test to see what the future of the Carolina Panthers looks like if Newton is indeed done after this year.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
