Losing running back Christian McCaffrey to injury last season helped sink the Panthers’ season, but it didn’t sink them on Thursday night against the Texans.
The Panthers improved to 3-0 with a 24-9 win fueled in large part by the play of quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold went 23-of-34 for 304 yards and ran for a pair of touchdowns and his play was strongest in the second half of the game. He was 10-of-14 for 146 yards while leading the Panthers on three straight scoring drives before running out the clock at the end of the game.
Linebacker Haason Reddick called Darnold “a flat-out baller” and left tackle Cameron Erving thinks he’s just scratching the surface of what he can do in the offense.
“We got a good one, man,” Erving said, via the team’s website. “We’ve got a good one, and he’s only going to get better. It’s always hard playing without one of your best players, but Sam stepped up and did a tremendous job tonight.”
It’s unclear how long McCaffrey will be out, but Darnold’s play gives reason to think that the team will weather his absence more easily this time around.
Cameron Erving: We got a good one in Sam Darnold and he’s only going to get better originally appeared on Pro Football Talk