4 keys to victory for the Carolina Panthers at NY Giants in Week 7
By Noah Bryce
Carolina Panthers must get the run game going
It’s no secret that the Carolina Panthers run game hasn’t exactly been stellar since Christian McCaffrey went down in Week 3. But there have been some encouraging signs of growth in the past couple of games from rookie Chuba Hubbard.
When given the chance, which has been a frustratingly limited amount of times, Hubbard has shown that his skill set can translate to the NFL climate rather well.
Just like in any game, having an effective rushing attack that is actually used is always a good sign. Teams that are behind don’t generally run their way back into games.
But another aspect that can be overlooked sometimes is that if you can at least be average on the ground it takes a massive amount of pressure off of the quarterback. This is something the Panthers have been rather inept at in recent memory.
When you don’t have to account for a running back you can leave your pass rush specialists in the game and blitz to your heart’s content. Just having a vague threat of the run is enough to make a defensive coach second guess what exactly the opponent is going to do.
That moment of apprehension is enough of an opening for a potentially big gain.
This is the wrinkle that the Panthers have been lacking.
In no world should Sam Darnold be attempting more than 40 passes or anywhere near that mark for that matter. The USC product has never been the type to win a game on his own and very few quarterbacks can do that on a regular basis.
Getting something going in the run game is the only way to get Darnold somewhat comfortable in the pocket again.