Looking at the Carolina Panthers, I notice the rushing touchdowns have really dried up over the last four years. They’re not running the ball as often around the goal line, and they’re also not running as effectively – they’re looking to pass more, while using Cam Newton less as a runner.
Back in Newton’s first two seasons, recall, the Panthers scored 26 and 21 rushing touchdowns. The last two years, they’ve scored 14 and 10. So that’s three straight years declining by at least 4 touchdowns.
Since the league moved to a 16-game season in 1978, this has been done by only six other teams (dropping by 4 TDs three years in a row), and two of those teams were helped along by strike-shortened seasons.
On the flip side, anytime you have a streak of this sort, things can help but turn around eventually. Each of these teams improved by at least 2 rushing touchdowns in the following (unlisted) season.
DISAPPEARING RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Years | Team | Yr1 | Yr2 | Yr3 | Yr4 |
1979-1982 | Houston | 24 | 18 | 11 | 5 |
1980-1983 | Buffalo | 17 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
1986-1989 | Dallas | 21 | 17 | 10 | 7 |
2004-2007 | Kansas City | 31 | 26 | 17 | 6 |
2008-2011 | Tennessee | 24 | 19 | 13 | 8 |
2009-2012 | Jacksonville | 19 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
2011-2014 | Carolina | 26 | 21 | 14 | 10 |
—Ian Allan