Although it was only one game—and the very first one at that—the Carolina Panthers’ Week 1 loss to the Cleveland Browns told us quite a bit about the team as it stands. And some of that revealing information came in how their snaps were distributed.
Here are the standout counts for Sunday’s season opener.
No chance at revenge or vengeance
The Panthers might’ve felt as if they had an embarrassment of riches at the wideout position this summer. And if they actually did, that likely ended up leaving two of their receivers, well, embarrassed after Week 1.
Despite their relatively solid name value on this roster, both Rashard Higgins and Terrace Marshall Jr. played zero snaps on Sunday. So no “revenge” against Cleveland for the former and no vengeance for the second-round pick looking to bounce back from an underwhelming rookie campaign.
The snaps, rather, went to just three men in the group—DJ Moore (100 percent), Robbie Anderson (100 percent) and Shi Smith (77 percent). And with Smith getting 41 looks, it may be safe to assume he’s the preferred No. 3 option at the moment.
It’s also worth noting that head coach Matt Rhule and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo skewed more towards two-tight end sets—with Ian Thomas (66 percent), Tommy Tremble (34 percent) and Giovanni Ricci (23 percent) seeing time over Higgins and Marshall Jr.
The Mac is back (sorta)
Running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t take on his usual workload. He registered just 10 carries (33 yards and a touchdown) and was targeted only four times (four receptions and 24 yards).
That involvement, however, wasn’t for a lack of on-field presence. The sixth-year veteran played in 81 percent (43) of the offense’s snaps—which isn’t too high, but not alarmingly low. Plus, it’s not like backups D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard ate too much into McCaffrey’s lunch—as they logged seven and three snaps, respectively.
Sunday’s lighter serving of McCaffrey was, perhaps, more so a product of McAdoo’s game plan—one that focused on quarterback Baker Mayfield—and the overall absence of rhythm throughout the game.
Men in the middle
Carolina’s defense has been little in the middle for quite a few seasons now. And even with free-agent signees Damien Wilson and Cory Littleton in the fold, defensive coordinator Phil Snow doesn’t have himself a deep linebacking corp to work with.
So, although it didn’t really help in stopping Browns running back Nick Chubb, he used a bunch of guys behind the defensive line. Players who recorded snaps in the box—per Pro Football Focus—included Wilson (29), Littleton (23), Shaq Thompson (55), Frankie Luvu (45), Jeremy Chinn (30), Xavier Woods (22), Jaycee Horn (11) and CJ Henderson (five).
Chinn, additionally, played in each of the unit’s 80 snaps on the day.
