The Arizona Cardinals might play the Carolina Panthers this week without quarterback Cam Newton. However, with or without Newton, they can be certain of one thing. The Panthers will try and involve running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey put up huge numbers in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. He rushed 19 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He caught 10 passes for 81 yards. He almost singlehandedly kept the Panthers in that game, a 30-27 loss.
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury expects that sort of workload from McCaffrey on Sunday.
“He’s special,” he said in his Monday press conference. “He does it all for them – runs it, catches, blocks. We’ll get a heavy dose of him, and he’s one of the most complete backs in the league right now.”
McCaffrey did not have the same big numbers last week against the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. He had 37 rushing yards on 16 carries and only two receptions for 16 yards.
That is what the Cardinals hope they can do defensively.
They have defended opposing running backs fairly effectively. They held Baltimore’s Mark Ingram to 47 yards on 13 carries. They held Detroit’s Kerryon Johnson to 49 yards on 16 carries.
The Cardinals believe they will get a big dose of McCaffrey. How they hold up against him likely will be the deciding factor in whether they can get their first win of the season or not.
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