Christian McCaffrey making history despite limited play for Panthers this season
Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey missed six games due to a high ankle sprain injury.
In his return Sunday, he looked as sharp as ever.
The All-Pro back finished the game in Kansas City with 151 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns — one rushing and one receiving. His 69 rushing yards were most on the team, and the 82 receiving yards were second only to wide receiver Curtis Samuel’s career day with 105 yards.
But McCaffrey suffered a shoulder injury on the final drive of the game vs. the Chiefs. While head coach Matt Rhule declined Monday to get into specifics about the extent of the injury, he is likely to miss a least a little time.
“Obviously Christian’s a big part of this team, (and) he, like everyone else, worked hard to come back to come back from the ankle,” Rhule said. “I was happy to see him out there, discouraged for him that he got banged up and we’ll see the extent of it as we move forward. “
Despite playing limited time this season, the running back has continued to put his stamp on the Panthers and the league in unique ways. McCaffrey, 24, is the highest paid running back in the NFL, after signing a four-year, $64 million contract extension this offseason. Mike Davis played well in his place, but McCaffrey made the offense just that much better by being back out on the field.
A conversation about the long term is for another day, but despite playing in just three games this season, McCaffrey has continued to make history. A few numbers for perspective:
▪ McCaffrey now has 10 career games with at least 10 receptions, the most by a running back in NFL history. No one else has more than six (LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Centers).
One note on this: The Panthers are 1-9 in those games. Most teams have a losing record in similar situations.
▪ He now has nine career games with both a rushing and receiving touchdown. McCaffrey passed Chuck Foreman (eight games) for the most such games by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history.
That nine-game mark ties him for the fifth most in a player’s career. Only Marshall Faulk (15), Lenny Moore (12), Brian Westbrook (12) and Jim Brown (11) have more.
▪ Sunday was McCaffrey’s 17th career game with 50-plus rushing yards and 50-plus receiving yards, which passes Le’Veon Bell (16 games) for the most such games by a player in his first four seasons. It is tied for 13th-most in a player’s career.
▪ No running back has had more receptions than McCaffrey in the first four years of his career (320), although Saints RB Alvin Kamara is closing in with 303.
▪ McCaffrey has a team-high six touchdowns this season, tied for 16th in the league while playing in only three games.
Other Panthers stats of note
▪ The Panthers have forced only two punts over the last three games — one by the Falcons and another by the Chiefs. They are the first team since 1950 to have opponents punt two or fewer times over a three-game span, per STATS. The Panthers are also the first team over that span to allow just one punt in three straight games.
Getting off the field continues to be an issue for the defense.
▪ From third downs of four to six yards, the Panthers’ defense has allowed a conversion percentage of 76% (19-25). Only three teams have allowed a conversion percentage higher than 56% (Panthers, Bengals, Eagles).
The linebackers and the team’s overall short-yardage defense play a role in that. It is certainly not unrelated from the team’s inability to get opponents off the field as of late.
▪ The offense has the lowest three-and-out percentage in the NFL. Only seven of 84 offensive series (8.3%) have ended after three plays. Finishing games has continued to be the issue. In each loss during the current four-game losing streak, the Panthers have had a chance to tie or win the game on a final offensive drive, but they’ve continued to come up short.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Christian McCaffrey making history despite limited play for Panthers this season."
