Lea: I hate to say I told you so, Panthers, but run the ball
Posted December 24, 2022 5:47 p.m. EST
Updated December 24, 2022 5:57 p.m. EST
Charlotte, N.C. — The story in the Carolina Panthers loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the run game. The team totaled 21 total yards on the ground last week.
In the first play of the Detroit Lion's game (a 37-23 win for the Panthers), Chuba Hubbard out-gained last week on a single run. A 30-yard dash. He followed that up with a 35 yard run.
In total, the Panthers gained 240 yards on the ground in the first half alone, the most in a half in the NFL since 2006. They set a Franchise record with 320 total.
That's not all.
Seven of those explosive first half (runs of 10 yards or more) runs totaled 191. Hubbard had three. D'Onta Foreman had three. Sam Darnold had one.
That's not all.
Hubbard and Foreman became the first Panthers tandem to gain over 100 yards on the ground each in a half.
If you've been reading my commentary on the Carolina Panthers for the last three seasons on this site, I've written about one consistent theme about the offense. I've been pleading for the Panthers to use a double-headed running attack.
I initially wanted the Panthers to do that to save mileage on Christian McCaffrey and Mike Davis was a great second option in 2020 when McCaffrey wasn't injured.
Last year, the team went running-back-by-committee with another season of CMC injuries.
This year under Matt Rhule, Foreman and Hubbard mostly rode the pine with CMC in the game. Now that Steve Wilks has taken over, he sees the light. A double-headed rushing attack that did something the duo known as 'Thunder & Lightning', Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams never did.
340 yards rushing, a franchise record - with some help from Sam Darnold, Raheem Blackshear and DJ Moore. This is exactly what this team must do without a top quarterback and without a top tier receiving corps.
Steve Wilks has found the winning formula and it hasn't taken him long. He's 5-5 since taking over as interim head coach, with the run game being the calling card.
And now, maybe we've seen the birth of a legit running tandem in the NFL with the Texan Foreman and the Canadian Hubbard.
You might as well call them NATO.
