With 20 receptions in the first two games we were already talking about running back Christian McCaffrey chances of breaking some kind of receptions record in 2018. The Bengals defensive coordinator certainly had to make it a focus of the defensive game plan; protect the edges and the flat in response to the Panthers’ propensity to run or pass to McCaffrey in those directions. New Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner made all that planning for naught.
Instead Turner ran McCaffrey between the tackles to the tune of 184 yards on 28 carries, a whopping 6.