When the Carolina Panthers traded their star running back Christian McCaffrey of Castle Rock, Colorado to the San Francisco 49ers on October 20, there were some questions about who would take over the reigns as the starting Panthers running back. Would there be a clear number one starter, or would the coaching staff decide to run a running back-by-committee system? Well on Thursday night, the possible questions were laid to rest, and the answer is clearly D’Onta Foreman of Texas City, Texas
In four games since the Panthers’ blockbuster deal which saw them earn four draft picks, Foreman has started three of the contests. His numbers are mighty impressive. Foreman has reached the century mark in rushing yards on three occasions (118 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a stunning 21-3 Carolina upset win on October 23, 118 yards again against the Atlanta Falcons in a 37-34 Carolina loss on October 30, and 130 yards against the Falcons in a 25-15 Carolina win on Thursday).
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Foreman has been able to do something in his short time in Carolina so far that McCaffrey was never able to do with the Panthers. That is to record 100 yards rushing against the same team twice in a year according to Amazon Prime. The last Panthers player to achieve that mark was Jonathan Stewart of Fort Lewis, Washington, who had 110 yards for Carolina in a 28-21 Panthers win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 18, 2009, and 120 yards in a 16-6 Panthers win over the Buccaneers on December 6, 2009.
In another quirky stat, the Panthers averaged 90.3 rushing yards per game this season before the McCaffrey trade, and are now averaging 159.5 yards per game since the deal according to ESPN. This may have to do more with the fact that the Panthers have been more committed to the running game since Steve Wilks was named head coach for Carolina on October 10. With the win, the Panthers improve to a record of three wins and seven losses, but are only a game and a half back of the division leading Buccaneers in the NFC South.
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