The Wide Receivers Must Step Up
Through the first two games of the season, the Panthers’ top pass catcher isn’t even a wide receiver. Instead, it is running back Christian McCaffrey who has a team-high 20 receptions.
As for the receivers, they dropped several passes against the Falcons. Devin Funchess was among those who struggled with drops, which isn’t what you want from your No. 1 wideout.
This week, the Panthers must catch the ball. Cam Newton is off to one of the most accurate two-game starts of his career (he has completed 69 percent of his passes thus far), but his numbers could be even better. He seemed to lose confidence in pretty much everyone other than McCaffrey for a while in Week 2, which doesn’t help matters but is an understandable reaction when your other playmakers are struggling.
McCaffrey’s backfield mate C.J. Anderson also had a costly drop that led to Newton’s first interception of the season. Many likely wondered where McCaffrey was on that play, as he was on the bench despite clearly being a better pass catcher than Anderson.
Quite simply, Carolina has to do better. When Newton starts completing passes at a high rate, he becomes more dangerous than ever. The Panthers’ receivers need to make sure their quarterback enjoys himself on Sunday because a happy quarterback probably equals a win.
Next Page: No. 2