Young, fast and versatile: Panthers’ victory over Ravens is glimpse of future offense

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton pulled aside rookie receiver DJ Moore and second-year receiver Curtis Samuel on Saturday, the night before the team took the field against Baltimore.

“I put the pressure on them,” said Newton, after the Panthers’ 36-21 victory on Sunday. “I told ‘em, with (Torrey Smith) being out, it’s going to be very important for them to kind of come in and get a good groove on early on. And that’s what they did.”

Man, did they.

Between the Panthers’ young offensive playmakers, stellar playcalling that featured a ton of pre-and-post-snap misdirection, and an excellent game by Newton, Carolina’s decisive victory offered a glimpse at the offense’s future.

Moore had a career day, with five catches on six targets for 90 yards, and 129 total yards from scrimmage.

Second-year running back/receiver Christian McCaffrey recorded both a receiving and a rushing touchdown. It was the seventh receiving touchdown of his career, which tied the franchise record for touchdown catches by a running back.

And Samuel caught all three of his targets for 28 yards and made two crucial plays on special teams by downing the ball inside the 5 — once after slipping and falling.

“We possess a lot of issues for the defense, and that’s what this offense was built for,” said Newton. “We have dynamic players all around the field, and it’s great to see the young guys step up.”

Why it worked

All three players, either first or second-round picks in the past two years, were drafted for their speed and versatility, as well as their ability to create yards after the catch.

And on Sunday, offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s playcalling accentuated their skills.

Carolina went no-huddle early in the game as they played to the speed of Newton and the three youngsters. Newton hit Moore and Samuel for 13 and 9-yard gains, respectively, out of no-huddle on his first two throws of the game.

The Panthers looked poised to score on their very first drive, if not for a rare third-down drop by receiver Jarius Wright.

In previous weeks, that loss of momentum might have slowed the Panthers down a little.

But trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Newton depended on Moore on a game-tying drive, hitting him twice on the drive for a total of 25 yards.

And the presence of other versatile players on the field helped set up Moore’s opportunities.

One of Moore’s catches, an 18-yard strike, featured McCaffrey lined up as a wide receiver and running back CJ Anderson in the backfield. McCaffrey went in motion, and then planted hard as if he were going to run a route upfield, drawing some attention.

Newton used a play-action fake to Anderson, dropped a couple steps, and threw a bullet to Moore.

“We had him playing in a few different spots,” head coach Ron Rivera said after the game. “So we moved him around to try and make it difficult to key in on him.”

That’s the same story we’ve heard about McCaffrey for over a year, and about a now-healthy Samuel, too.

And all of them on the field at once?

“It’s a dangerous offense,” said Samuel said after the game. “We’ve got speed guys on the field who can beat guys down the field. We got guys who, when you get the ball in their hands short, we can make plays. It’s dangerous for a defense. They can’t scheme us up as well.

“You can’t just say, ‘These guys are going to run downfield and catch the ball.’ You’ve got to watch out for the run threat, too.”

Misdirection as a weapon

Sometimes it even seemed the Baltimore defense lost track of them altogether.

McCaffrey’s rushing touchdown was a good example.

Tight end Chris Manhertz let out a big belly-laugh when he was asked about the play postgame. Manhertz was in as a blocker and accidentally snuck McCaffrey out from under his arm for a big gain. He said he didn’t even see the young running back behind him, he just saw differnt colored jerseys and knew he had to push a few guys.

“I was even looking for him!” Manhertz exclaimed, adding that Baltimore seemed to lose him, too.

But McCaffrey ducked under Manhertz’s outstretched arm and scampered into the end zone for the 11-yard score.

The touchdown started a run of 27 unanswered points.

Baltimore’s defense, which entered the game No. 7 against the run and No. 2 against the pass, grew visibly frustrated by the misdirection plays as the Panthers racked up 36 points, almost tripling their average points allowed so far this season.

The Ravens bit hard a few times on run-pass option plays, and Carolina’s play-action.

Having Moore, Samuel and McCaffrey all out on the field gave them a lot to think about.

Cornerback Jimmy Smith summed it up the Panthers’ use of misdirection pretty well to reporters postgame, when he balled his hands up into fists and held one out.

“Look at my hand,” he said, then holding up the other one. “If I smack you with this one, you won’t see it coming. That’s how it works.”