4 things we discovered about the Carolina Panthers in Week 8
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers are now a run-first team
This is something Matt Rhule has wanted for a while. The Carolina Panthers failed to implement the head coach’s desire at the New York Giants, but things started trending in a positive fashion when the run-first mentality finally came to the fore in Week 8.
Carolina made no secret of their desire to pound the rock. Something that brought around 203 rushing yards from 47 combined touches without Christian McCaffrey carrying the load.
This wasn’t one person getting overworked.
It was a team effort that consisted of prominent yardage from Chuba Hubbard, Ameer Abdullah, Royce Freeman, and even quarterback Sam Darnold.
Again, the Atlanta Falcons defense isn’t world-beating. They were ranked No. 30 across the league for a reason.
However, this tone-setting approach to offensive play may not be flashy. But it definitely helped the Panthers dictate the tempo and take some heat of their signal-caller for good measure.
The New England Patriots are giving up 112.8 yards per game on the ground, so the Panthers face a stiffer task to install this strategy this weekend. A challenge that would be far tougher if Darnold is ruled out after entering the NFL’s concussion protocol.