Panthers @ Cardinals
Final Score: Panthers 34, Cardinals 10
Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)
Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins were both game-time decisions, and once again they were both inactive in Week 10. Meanwhile, Cam Newton was active for Carolina just days after re-signing with the team. Carolina dominated the first half, scoring 23 points thanks largely in part to two turnovers on defense and a reawakening of their offense due to a dominant Christian McCaffery.
The story of this game was the dominance of the Carolina defense and the return of Newton, who scored two touchdowns on his first two snaps of the game. He’s also taken on a leadership role for this team, who is now 5-5 and suddenly finds themselves right in the hunt for the NFC South.
Cam Newton is already taking a leadership role
Awesome to see 👏👏👏
pic.twitter.com/sjkmbUveF0— PFF (@PFF) November 14, 2021
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
P.J. Walker: 22/29, 167 yards, INT, Fumble (Lost) | 3 carries, 6 yards
Cam Newton: 3/4, 8 yards, TD | 3 carries, 14 yards, TD
P.J. Walker wasn’t bad in this game, and he did enough to help the Panthers hold their comfortable lead all game, but the emergence of Cam Newton from out of seemingly nowhere was the key to the future of this Panthers’ offense. He scored a touchdown on the ground on his first snap of the game, showing us a glimpse of the old Cam that we got so used to seeing in that Panthers uniform.
BEEN WAITING TO TWEET THIS!!!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/KmuwhX4LBZ
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 14, 2021
Mariah Carey every holiday season pic.twitter.com/Ohj7mcTvNr
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) November 14, 2021
Oh yeah, Christmas music is coming soon, folks. Start prepping now. On Carolina’s very next possession, Cam hit Robby Anderson for the score to give the Panthers the lead for good.
Are you serious right now?!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/FSLXiGdwQE
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 14, 2021
Yeah, for good, because this was a dominating performance for Carolina’s defense. Cam will likely be the starter moving forward but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some P.J. Walker sprinkled in from time to time. Most of his throws were short and sharp, and his timing on slant routes to Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore was on point for most of the day. He did fumble a snap early on, but he didn’t turn the ball over until late in the 2nd quarter when he overthrew an open receiver for a bad INT.
Going the other way 😤@jt_broooo x #RedSea pic.twitter.com/u0bgRpkgMv
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 14, 2021
Walker was 17/22 with an INT in the first half but he wasn’t asked to do too much thanks to McCaffery’s dominance on the ground. Walker’s fumble was on a handoff to Chuba Hubbard. I was surprised to see it credited to Walker in the box score, but unfortunately for anyone who started Walker that will go down as negative points if your league counts them. I wouldn’t say I was impressed by Walker today, but he was better than I anticipated.
Running Back
Christian McCaffery: 13 carries, 95 yards | 10 targets, 10 receptions, 66 yards
Chuba Hubbard: 9 carries, 27 yards, TD
Ameer Abdullah: 9 carries, 24 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 27 yards
Christian McCaffery really makes this offense look so much better, even with P.J. Walker starting behind center. Carolina’s offense moved the ball with ease on Sunday and it was largely due to an electric McCaffery slithering through holes and catching balls out of the backfield. He had ten carries for 90 yards in just the first half, as well as seven catches for 39 yards. He very nearly had a touchdown as well, as he ran into a wall upfront, bounced it outside, and dove across the goal line to score. The play was reversed on replay after it was ruled that he stepped out of bounds.
He had multiple runs called back by penalty, including a 10-yard run that was called back by a holding call that didn’t really have any impact on the play. Later in the game he had a catch down the sideline that he once again punched into the end zone, but once again was called back because he stepped out of bounds. This is the beauty of rostering McCaffery, though – he was held out of the end zone but still had one heck of a game from a fantasy perspective. That’s why he’s the consensus 1:1 in drafts.
Chuba Hubbard scored his touchdown on the very next play. Hubbard didn’t have much of an impact in this one besides that one vulture, and his role will likely be diminished as long as CMC is healthy.
Speaking of CMC being healthy, he was banged up on a play in the 2nd half and briefly left the game. As he was being tackled he took a knee to his right thigh. He got up and went right to the medical tent, came out shortly after, and was then seen with a member of the training staff working on his leg. He would return to the game shortly thereafter and appeared to be fine, but his workload is going to be something to monitor moving forward. He is clearly the engine that drives this offense and they need him healthy if they’re going to compete for a playoff spot this season.
I’ve said this for three straight weeks, but Ameer Abdullah looks really good with the ball in his hands in this offense. They don’t give it to him enough to be fantasy relevant, but another CMC injury could vault him into fantasy relevance and I wouldn’t hesitate to make a waiver claim for him.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
D.J. Moore: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 24 yards
Robby Anderson: 6 targets, 37 yards, TD
Tommy Tremble: 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards
Terrace Marshall Jr.: 2 targets
Brandon Zylstra: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
With this game out of hand early and P.J. Walker at the helm, none of these guys were really needed to do much in this one. It was a positive sign seeing Robby Anderson getting more work, and he was smiling ear to ear after his touchdown reception. At one point, Anderson had an easy catch and run after a Cardinals’ defensive end lined up opposite him in coverage, and Robby made easy work of him. The broadcast noted that Walker and Anderson went to Temple together, and their chemistry was obvious today.
D.J. Moore wasn’t asked to do much either, and his most notable play was a screen on 3rd and two that he wasn’t able to convert. It wasn’t his fault, though, because Terrace Marshall Jr. missed a block, resulting in Moore being taken down for a loss. Marshall would make up for it by converting a two-point play later on. I’ll be curious to see how these guys fare with Cam Newton under center for the rest of the season because we didn’t get much of a look at it today.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Colt McCoy: 11/20, 107 yards, INT, Fumble (Lost) | 1 carry, 1 yard
Chris Streveler: 6/9, 36 yards | 2 carries, 4 yards
With Kyler Murray inactive again, Colt McCoy started for the second week in a row and hoped to repeat his excellent performance from Week 9. Instead, it was a mess right from the get-go. McCoy fumbled on their very first drive while getting sacked by Haason Reddick.
Haason had this date circled on the calendar no doubt
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/6vAk6Gmuad
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 14, 2021
This resulted in Cam Newton‘s first touchdown. On their next drive, McCoy was stuffed on 4th and one at midfield on 2nd drive. The short field led to Cam’s touchdown pass. Then, on their third drive of the game, McCoy rolled out and threw across his body, overthrowing Zach Ertz right into the defender’s hands.
Donte Jackson. That’s the tweet.
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/hJQZurdw8m
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 14, 2021
He also very nearly threw a pick-six later on in the game on a short route that was jumped by the defender. The defender couldn’t hang onto the ball (I don’t remember who it was), but he had the entire field in front of him if he would have been able to secure it.
McCoy was injured midway through the third quarter on a sack. It wasn’t initially clear what the injury was, and the booth speculated that he might have gotten the wind knocked out of him, but he didn’t end up returning to the game. Chris Streveler came on in relief and struggled to keep drives going. This offense really needs Kyler back soon if they’re going to compete for a division title.
Running Backs
James Conner: 10 carries, 39 yards, TD | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards
Eno Benjamin: 6 carries, 22 yards | 1 target
It was a tough day for all aspects of the Cardinals’ offense. James Conner was the lead back again with Chase Edmonds on IR, and he salvaged his poor day with a touchdown late in garbage time. He did have a long run called back by a penalty, and his 21-yard screen in the 2nd half was their longest play of the day from scrimmage, but otherwise, it was a forgettable afternoon for Conner. Colt McCoy was injured in the game because Conner missed a block that allowed Shaq Thompson to get a clean hit on him, and Conner was also tracked down by Thompson from behind on a 3rd and 1 carry where he had a wide-open hole for a first down and more. Blocking was an issue for Arizona and that was largely due to the dominance upfront by Carolina all day long.
I do not recall Eno Benjamin having much of an impact in this game. Honestly, he was pretty much nonexistent.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Christian Kirk: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 58 yards
Zach Ertz: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 46 yards
Rondale Moore: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 10 yards | 1 carry, 1 yard
A.J. Green: 5 targets, 1 reception, 4 yards
Antoine Wesley: 1 target
Early on, it looked like Christian Kirk was going to feast today, but that simply didn’t end up being the case. He had a nice 20-yard catch and run, and made a nice catch on the sideline as well. Colt McCoy clearly prefers him to any of the other options on offense, but with the offense struggling to string long drives together, Kirk didn’t have much opportunity for more looks.
Rondale Moore had a quiet day. His one carry wasn’t actually a handoff, it was a backwards pass that he took for one yard on the ground. He also was on the receiving end of a double pass from Kirk on 3rd and 20 that went for seven of his 10 yards through the air. To me, it looked like the original pass to Kirk was a forward pass, but it was allowed to stand. By this point the game was out of hand so it didn’t matter anyway.
Zach Ertz didn’t make much of an impact in this one, either. None of his catches stood out, but he was overthrown on a desperation attempt on third down and was also overthrown on McCoy’s lone interception. He’s being used, which is great to see for anyone who rosters him in fantasy, but the ceiling will be capped for as long as Kyler is out.
— Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)