Why didn’t the Panthers give Christian McCaffrey the ball on fourth-and-1 vs. Raiders?
On fourth down and half a yard, for these Carolina Panthers, the ball absolutely has to go to Christian McCaffrey.
On Sunday, it didn’t. And the Panthers, who hadn’t won a game for 315 days, lost a season-opening thriller to the Las Vegas Raiders, 34-30, Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers’ offense was fun to watch, but I couldn’t stand the call on fourth-and-1 at the Las Vegas 46 on their last real chance to score with 1:23 to go. Instead of giving it to the best running back in football — Christian McCaffrey, who is easily Carolina’s best player and had already scored twice — the Panthers tried to fool the Raiders and gave it to little-used fullback Alex Armah.
Armah got stuffed for no gain, and that was that. As former Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart tweeted: “So you got 22 in the back field! And it’s 4 and inches and you don’t wanna give it to him!?”
Exactly.
New Panthers coach Matt Rhule said the controversial play call was his fault — although, technically, offensive coordinator Joe Brady calls Carolina’s plays. When I asked him in a press conference why the Panthers wouldn’t put the ball in McCaffrey’s hands on fourth and a foot, the coach said: “It’s a great question. I’m not second-guessing anyone. … That’s something I have to think about walking away from this … When you write up who to blame for that, the only person you can blame is the head coach.”
Rhule did point out that the play had worked earlier in the game in another short-yardage situation. But still, you have to win or lose with No. 22 there. McCaffrey, of course, took a non-controversial approach to a question about the play call. “It was a play we were all on board with,” McCaffrey said.
Was he surprised not to get the ball there? “I don’t think it matters whether I was surprised or not,” McCaffrey said.
▪ It was eerie driving into uptown and then walking into the stadium Sunday. It was the first game day of the season, but it felt more like a set from “The Walking Dead.” No traffic. Hardly anybody on Mint and Morehead Streets.
▪ The Panthers’ stadium wasn’t entirely empty, though. The new bunker suites in the west end zone were used. About 40 people were watching from there — a combination of corporate sponsors and some of Carolina’s own staff, according to the Panthers. While the social distancing in those new field-level suites seemed OK, the mask-wearing was spotty based on my occasional survey through binoculars. It should also be pointed out that those suites are open-air.
▪ North Carolina teams are handling Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID-19 severe crowd limitations in different ways. I was in Boone on Saturday, where Appalachian State used its 50-seat allotment for the parents of their junior and senior football players.
▪ Not a great day for DJ Moore, the Panthers’ No. 1 receiver. He dropped the first pass thrown to him. And then, late in the third quarter, he got a critical penalty for taunting after an incomplete pass in the end zone. Moore and Raiders safety Lamarcus Joyner were jawing after the play when Moore pushed Joyner. You just can’t do that. Moore ended up with nine targets, catching up four for 54 yards.
The Panthers got the 25 yards anyway — on two passes to McCaffrey — but Moore made it unnecessarily hard. Moore later couldn’t come up with a contested catch in the end zone on a short slant, but McCaffrey saved the drive again with a 3-yard TD burst.
▪ The “It Takes All Of Us” and “End Racism” slogans on the edge of two end zones sure are subtle. Too subtle. In the meantime, there is at least 30 yards of empty space inside both end zones that is just blank grass.
▪ While the Panthers were making their 2020 debut, two prominent former Panthers were debuting for new teams and had better results. Cam Newton started his first game for New England on Sunday and Ron Rivera coached his first game for Washington. Newton ran for two TDs in a 21-11 victory over Miami. Rivera, who got cancer treatments during the week and then coached on Sunday, brought Washington back from a 17-0 deficit against Philadelphia and won, 27-17.
▪ The Panthers had some trouble with the speed of Las Vegas rookie Henry Ruggs III, especially after cornerback Donte Jackson went out with an ankle injury. Ruggs had a 45-yard catch to set up one touchdown. He left briefly with a leg injury but later returned, although he wasn’t much of a factor after that.
▪ The Panthers have an exciting kick returner again. Former South Carolina Gamecock Pharoh Cooper really looked the part Sunday.
This story was originally published September 13, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
