5 greatest Panthers to never make an NFC Championship game
By Dean Jones
Christian McCaffrey – Carolina Panthers RB
- 2017-Present
Although Christian McCaffrey hasn’t yet made the NFC Championship game, there is plenty of time to do so. The star running back was part of the 2017 squad that made the playoffs, but the Carolina Panthers have yet to find themselves with a winning record since.
That has nothing to do with McCaffrey’s production. The former first-round pick took to the next level like a duck to water, producing some unbelievable highlights to quickly emerge as the league’s best dual-threat player at the position.
McCaffrey became only the third player in NFL history to go over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in 2019, which came with a bumper new four-year, $64 million deal with a $21 million signing bonus and $38 million guaranteed last offseason.
Things didn’t exactly go to plan for McCaffrey in 2020, featuring in just three games due to ankle, quad, and shoulder problems. This complicated matters in no uncertain terms – especially with the game on the line – so Carolina will be hoping there are no further problems for a player that hadn’t missed a game prior to the previous campaign.
He certainly looks fit and raring to go during the early portion of the preparation period.
The Panthers will probably take some of the heat off McCaffrey moving forward to preserve their best weapon on offense, but he’ll remain a pivotal part of what Carolina is trying to build and hopefully, this can come with an NFC Championship game appearance sooner rather than later.