What did we learn from the Carolina Panthers’ snap counts in their Week 4 loss to the Arizona Cardinals?
Let’s run down the three biggest lessons of the outing.
Moo
Even in a cloud of uncertainty, the Panthers took the bell-cow approach with running back Christian McCaffrey once again.
McCaffrey, who had missed consecutive practices this past Wednesday and Thursday, was listed as questionable heading into the weekend. Coaches also wanted to see how the sixth-year rusher looked on his injured quad in pregame warmups—so his status for Sunday was no sure thing.
Alas, he played . . . and did he ever. McCaffrey was on the field for 86.5 percent of the offense’s snaps—his second-highest percentage of the season. He turned those looks into 108 total yards and a touchdown off 17 touches—with the only other designed runs going to backup D’Onta Foreman (one) and wideouts DJ Moore (one) and Laviska Shenault Jr. (one).
Longing for Laviska?
Speaking of Shenault Jr., Carolina was already missing his presence following a dazzling Week 3 debut.
When the third-year weapon had to be sidelined due to a second hamstring injury, the Panthers rolled out receiver Shi Smith and running back Chuba Hubbard on punt and kick return duties, respectively. And, uh, the results weren’t exactly soothing.
Both men mishandled a pair of takes, adding to their ball security issues from weeks past. Plus, in another concerning outcome for the two, Smith saw just a pair of targets over 39 offensive snaps while Hubbard came away with zero carries.
Chinn-less
Joining Shenault Jr. on the sideline was safety Jeremy Chinn, who exited the outing early with a hamstring issue of his own.
So, in his place, defensive coordinator Phil Snow gave Myles Hartsfield his most action of 2022. The versatile defensive back logged 72 defensive snaps, the third-most on the unit.
Sean Chandler got in on the team’s attempt to replace Chinn as well. He hit the field for the first time on defense all season, chalking up five tackles over 33 snaps.
If Chinn is set to miss an extended period of time, is this how Snow will go about the backend of his group?
