If I had to pick one play to symbolize the first seven games of running back Christian McCaffrey's NFL career, I'd go with a 3-yard gain in the Carolina Panthers' 17-3 loss to Chicago last week.
On second-and-8 from Chicago's 31, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton dropped back, saw nothing downfield that he liked and instead threw a swing pass to McCaffrey in the right flat.
Newton overthrew the ball, though, and it looked for a second like it would sail out of bounds. Instead, McCaffrey leaped high to make a spectacular catch with his right hand, bringing the ball down without ever using his left.
Now it looked like a potentially big play, and the Bears crowd gasped in involuntary appreciation because of the grab. But instead, McCaffrey tried an inside move that fooled no one, and he was brought down by the first Chicago tackler he faced.
Bottom line: The play looked promising, it had a touch of greatness _ and it resulted in only 3 yards.
McCaffrey, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 draft, has been far more effective than fellow Panthers rookie Curtis Samuel and his numbers stack up favorably with most NFL rookies around the league.
But McCaffrey is also averaging only 2.5 yards per rush and 7.5 yards per reception. He has touched the ball 89 times on plays from scrimmage, and he has only had one play of longer than 20 yards on those touches (a 37-yard reception). He doesn't have a running play of more than 11 yards yet. He has scored twice, both on short passes.
"Nobody's more critical of me than me," McCaffrey said this week. "I have a lot to get better on."
