4 key observations from Christian McCaffrey’s performance vs. the Saints

Another 100-yard game for Christian McCaffrey

The defense will take most plaudits and rightfully so, but Christian McCaffrey quietly put together his second-consecutive game of more than 100 rushing yards.

McCaffrey accumulated 25 carries for 108 rushing yards, to be precise. This came with a 4.8 yards-per-carry average and as stated previously, every single one was hard earned against a quality defensive front.

Leaning on McCaffrey too much could bring its own set of complications the later we get into the season. However, this is all the Carolina Panthers can do right now until Baker Mayfield figures things out under center.

Considering how things have gone for McCaffrey since signing his lucrative contract extension before the 2020 season, everything he’s done so far has been a plus. Despite being used very little in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, the All-Pro has 243 yards on the ground to go with one touchdown and 57 receiving yards.

Now that the Panthers have their unwanted nine-game losing run off their backs, what comes next is equally if not more important. And make no mistake, if Matt Rhule wants to come through a daunting run of fixtures heading into Halloween, then he needs McCaffrey fit and firing on all cylinders.

In that sense, it’s so far, so good.