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Christian McCaffrey Shines as Carolina Panthers Beat Miami Dolphins

Who says Christian McCaffery can't run between the tackles? He shined big-time in the Carolina Panthers 27-20 win over the Miami Dolphins.
Christian McCaffrey

The Carolina Panthers played in their second preseason game on Friday against another AFC East team in the Miami Dolphins. A lot of the excitement surrounding this game, the first at Bank of America stadium under new owner David Tepper, was more aesthetically based than not.

For the first time in franchise history, the Panthers combined their alternate blue jerseys with their away white pants. Unfortunately, the anticipation for the unveiling of a new midfield logo fell by the wayside this week, but at this point, it’s a guarantee the NFL shield will not be there on week one. The second preseason game saw the starters play most of the first half on both sides of the ball. There was some good, there was some bad. Let’s get into it.

Christian McCaffrey Shines in Second Carolina Panthers Victory of the Preseason

There have been rumblings this off-season about whether or not Christian McCaffrey can become a real workhorse back in the NFL. Will the 5’ 11”, 210-pound kid out of Stanford be able to handle the lion share of carries and hits in an NFL offense? This season will determine whether McCaffrey is a good player (a la Darren Sproles) or a great player. Friday was a very good indication of the dominant player that he can be. On the Panthers second offensive play of the night, McCaffrey took a run between the tackles 71 yards for a touchdown.

A run so nice it even had three-time NBA champion Steph Curry impressed. The blocking on the right side of the line was just incredible, most notably by rookie tight end Ian Thomas and second-year fullback Alex Armah, who both had standout nights in electric blue.

At the end of the first quarter, McCaffrey had 93 of the Panthers 103 total yards of offense. He finished with 110 yards on nine total touches in the first half alone. It’s preseason, but if Friday was a preview, the league doesn’t know what they are in for when RUN CMC comes to town.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

  • Rookie cornerback Donte Jackson was picked on early, but finished the first drive strong
  • As stated, McCaffrey scores a touchdown on the second offensive play of the game for Carolina, bursting through a beautifully crafted lane
  • Cam Newton is sacked on the subsequent two-point attempt, which was an interesting decision by Ron Rivera: CAR 6 MIA 0
  • Safety Da’Norris Searcy laid absolute wood on a Dolphins running back near the sideline. He was placed in concussion protocol after this hit.
  • Linebacker Shaq Thompson continues to make plays, coming up with a big tackle for loss deep in Panthers territory
  • The Dolphins had a little kicking competition on their hands. Kicker Jason Sanders nails a 42-yarder to cut the lead in half: CAR 6 MIA 3
  • Newton throws a bad interception to Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard who was lurking underneath on an out pattern to tight end Greg Olsen. This set the Dolphins up at the Panthers nine-yard line. It would have been a touchdown if not for the chase down effort by Ian Thomas.
  • Panthers defense holds strong, forces another Sanders field goal, this time a chip shot from 29 yards to tie it: CAR 6 MIA 6

Second Quarter

  • Newton is sacked for third time of the night. Matt Kalil was the culprit again. It wasn’t a good night for the other Kalil brother.
  • The Dolphins kicking competition heats up as Greg Joseph is able to hit a 54 yarder after another stalled drive: CAR 6 MIA 9
  • On the last drive of the night for the starting offense, Thomas takes an underneath pass by Newton 27 yards for his first NFL touchdown. The kid was impressive tonight: CAR 13 MIA 9

Third Quarter

  • The Panthers give up another field goal drive to start the half: CAR 13 MIA 12
  • Curtis Samuel made a few big plays tonight, which was very encouraging.

Fourth Quarter

  • Running back Cameron Artis-Payne was able to start off the fourth quarter with a three-yard touchdown run: CAR 20 MIA 12
  • Cornerback Corn Elder, who missed all of his rookie year in 2017 with an injury, had a great interception:
  • Panthers kicker Graham Gano missed a 44-yard field goal. No bueno.
  • Running back Kenjon Barner made plays in the fourth quarter, including ripping off a 27-yard run. He could push Artis-Payne for the RB3 spot: CAR 27 MIA 12
  • Former North Carolina running back Elijah Hood ran like an angry bull for touchdown number two of the preseason for him. Here’s hoping he can find a spot somewhere. He runs the ball hard.
  • Dolphins quarterback and former Baylor Bear Bryce Petty ran in a meaningless touchdown with 29 seconds left in the game.

FINAL: CAR 27 MIA 20

Quick Takeaways

  • The new helmet penalty is awful. Plain and simple. These penalties have the potential to really mess up some good football. Hopefully, these preseason flags are just a scare tactic by the refs. No one wants to see this penalty be implemented to this extent.
  • Armah was opening up lanes for every tailback, all night long. He really stood out tonight. It looks like offensive coordinator Norv Turner may have a lot of use for the former defensive end as a lead blocker.
  • Newton finished 9/12 for 89 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
  • Taylor Heinicke led a nice drive and looks to have the edge as QB2.
  • Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill finished 14/17 for 100 yards with three field goal ending drives, meh. The defense got chopped up, but hunkered down when it mattered the most.
  • Donte Jackson lined up off the ball for most of the first half. Coaches would say after the game that this was a plan to get Jackson used to the zone scheme the Panthers like to play in. Expect them to let him bump and run a lot more in real game action.

Injury Report

  • Rookie offensive lineman Brendan Mahon left with an injury to his calf.
  • Starting safety Da’Norris Searcy is in concussion protocol

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Jake Wexler

Jake Wexler

My name is Jake and I really like sports. Mostly football. I graduated from Texas A&M and now work and live in Austin, Texas. I tweet about the Carolina Panthers a lot. Follow me @jwex520 on Twitter and @lastwordonpanthers on Instagram

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