4 big takeaways from the Panthers’ loss at the Chiefs in Week 9

Christian McCaffrey looked like his old self

Christian McCaffrey was active for the first time since Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and it didn’t take long for the star running back to find his stride. The Carolina Panthers – as expected – looked much better with their All-Pro and hopefully, this is a trend that can continue long into the future.

The former first-round pick caught a nice pass on the first play of the game and ended Carolina’s opening drive in the same fashion with a touchdown. The Chiefs were all-too-aware of where McCaffrey was at all times and this seemed to open some nice lanes for other weapons on offense to make their presence felt.

There are so many playmakers at Carolina’s disposal, somebody is going to be open more often than not. Providing Teddy Bridgewater can go through his progressions quickly, then the sky is the limit.

It was a hugely impressive start from the Panthers, and a lot of that can be attributed to the morale they got from having the best dual-threat running back in the NFL on the field. McCaffrey eventually finished the game with 151 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns from 28 combined touches and this resulted in Carolina gaining a significant amount of positives against the defending Super Bowl champions.