Through the air and on the ground McCaffrey made it happen for Carolina
McCaffrey dominates Texans to lead Panthers to win
Sep 29, 2019, 3:39 pm
Through the air and on the ground McCaffrey made it happen for Carolina
Christian McCaffrey
The best player on the field Sunday was without a doubt Christian McCaffrey. The Houston Texans had no answers for the all-purpose wonder as he led the Panthers to a 16-10 victory in Houston.
McCaffrey would finish the day with 179 total yards. Through the air he was the Panthers leading receiver catching 10 passes for 86 yards. He had a key third down reception to keep a drive alive and though the Panthers didn't score, they flipped the field on the Texans.
He caught that?!
Christian McCaffrey is unreal 😳 #CARvsHOU #KeepPounding @run__cmc
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Bill O'Brien would challenge the above play but to no avail it would stand as called.
On the ground, the Panthers star back was equally hard to solve but the Texans had a little more success slowing him down on the ground. He carried the ball 27 time for 93 yards which is a 3.4 yards per carry average. He did score the only touchdown of the day for Carolina as he scampered in from three yards out.
"He's a great player. You have to know where he is on every play," said head coach Bill O'Brien.
14 of the 37 touches for McCaffrey went for 6-plus yards as he was the only thing really working on any consistent basis for the Panthers. More than a few times he got a free release from the Texans offense making his catch easy. He was a nightmare matchup for Zach Cunningham in coverage.
Isaac Paredes has been a steady force in the middle of the Astros’ order, but a tweaked hamstring suffered during Thursday’s win over the White Sox may force Houston to recalibrate, again.
If Paredes misses time, the most logical shuffle would see Jose Altuve sliding back to second base, with Mauricio Dubón stepping in at third. It’s a reasonable patch. But internally, there’s also some intrigue around whether Cam Smith—currently thriving in right field—could slide back to his original position on the infield. The idea isn’t without merit; Smith is the club’s best offensive option at third in Paredes’ absence. But defensively, it’s hard to justify moving him right now. Smith made several standout plays in the Chicago series, reinforcing just how important his glove has become to the Astros’ outfield defense. One thing is for sure, the Astros can't afford to play both Dubon and Brendon Rodgers in the infield regularly. The offense would take a huge hit.
Timing, however, might be on Houston’s side. The next stretch of games features the Twins, Athletics, and Angels—three teams the Astros can beat even while navigating lineup instability. It helps that Yainer Diaz and Christian Walker are showing signs of life at the plate. Diaz, in particular, has been red-hot, posting an OPS north of 1.200 over the past week. Walker is batting over .300 during that same span, giving the Astros enough firepower to survive short-term turbulence.
Elsewhere, the outfield presents its own set of choices. Jacob Melton has shown enough in the field to warrant a serious look as Chas McCormick’s replacement when he returns from injury. He’s still searching for consistency at the plate, batting under .200 in his first 10 big league games. But his arm and left-handed bat give manager Joe Espada a little more lineup flexibility—especially with Yordan Alvarez still out and the offense skewing right-handed.
For now, the Astros have room to adjust. But if Paredes ends up missing significant time, they’ll need more than just a few temporary solutions to keep their momentum going.
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