We tend to think of Carolina has having one of the better running games, but a huge part of that production comes on quarterbacks scrambles and designed runs. You take Cam Newton away, and the Panthers start to look very ordinary. They’re not a team that lines up and pounds people with the run.
Over the past three years, in fact, Newton has run for over 2,000 yards and scored 19 touchdowns on his own. So when you look at just quarterbacks and wide receivers (not running backs), the Panthers have been No. 1 in rushing.
RUSHING PRODUCTION, 2012-14 (QB-WR) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Yds | TD | Pts |
1. | Carolina | 44 | .40 | 6.8 |
2. | Seattle | 43 | .27 | 5.9 |
3. | San Francisco | 41 | .23 | 5.5 |
4. | Washington | 38 | .19 | 4.9 |
5. | Minnesota | 25 | .29 | 4.2 |
6. | NY Jets | 26 | .23 | 4.0 |
7. | Indianapolis | 21 | .25 | 3.6 |
8. | Philadelphia | 23 | .17 | 3.3 |
9. | Tennessee | 21 | .15 | 3.0 |
10. | Cincinnati | 17 | .21 | 2.9 |
11. | Green Bay | 21 | .10 | 2.7 |
12. | Kansas City | 22 | .06 | 2.6 |
13. | Miami | 17 | .10 | 2.4 |
14. | Buffalo | 15 | .15 | 2.3 |
15. | St. Louis | 15 | .13 | 2.3 |
16. | Oakland | 17 | .08 | 2.2 |
17. | Chicago | 17 | .06 | 2.0 |
18. | Detroit | 10 | .17 | 2.0 |
19. | Baltimore | 9 | .17 | 1.9 |
20. | Cleveland | 16 | .02 | 1.7 |
21. | Jacksonville | 14 | .02 | 1.6 |
22. | Tampa Bay | 10 | .06 | 1.4 |
23. | New Orleans | 6 | .13 | 1.4 |
24. | Houston | 8 | .08 | 1.3 |
25. | Atlanta | 9 | .04 | 1.1 |
26. | New England | 6 | .08 | 1.1 |
27. | Pittsburgh | 7 | .04 | 1.0 |
28. | Arizona | 7 | .02 | .9 |
29. | NY Giants | 4 | .04 | .6 |
30. | San Diego | 6 | .00 | .6 |
31. | Dallas | 4 | .02 | .5 |
32. | Denver | 1 | .02 | .3 |
But when you look at just the running backs (setting quarterbacks aside), Carolina has one of the worst running games.
The “points” on these charts, by the way, are fantasy points – 6 points for a rushing touchdown, and 1 point for every 10 rushing yards. Numbers are of the per-game variety.
RUSHING PRODUCTION, 2012-14 (RB only) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Yds | TD | Pts |
1. | New England | 118 | 1.10 | 18.5 |
2. | Denver | 113 | .88 | 16.6 |
3. | Kansas City | 111 | .85 | 16.2 |
4. | Seattle | 114 | .77 | 16.0 |
5. | Houston | 118 | .71 | 16.0 |
6. | Philadelphia | 111 | .77 | 15.7 |
7. | Minnesota | 111 | .77 | 15.7 |
8. | Washington | 99 | .88 | 15.2 |
9. | Dallas | 103 | .73 | 14.7 |
10. | NY Giants | 96 | .83 | 14.6 |
11. | San Francisco | 102 | .71 | 14.4 |
12. | Buffalo | 110 | .56 | 14.4 |
13. | Cincinnati | 101 | .71 | 14.3 |
14. | Green Bay | 99 | .73 | 14.3 |
15. | Baltimore | 101 | .67 | 14.1 |
16. | NY Jets | 106 | .50 | 13.6 |
17. | Detroit | 90 | .73 | 13.4 |
18. | New Orleans | 95 | .63 | 13.3 |
19. | Chicago | 92 | .60 | 12.9 |
20. | Miami | 89 | .63 | 12.7 |
21. | Cleveland | 82 | .67 | 12.2 |
22. | Pittsburgh | 90 | .52 | 12.1 |
23. | Tampa Bay | 90 | .48 | 11.9 |
24. | Atlanta | 78 | .67 | 11.8 |
25. | San Diego | 94 | .40 | 11.8 |
26. | Carolina | 84 | .54 | 11.6 |
27. | St. Louis | 91 | .42 | 11.6 |
28. | Tennessee | 84 | .52 | 11.5 |
29. | Indianapolis | 84 | .48 | 11.2 |
30. | Arizona | 77 | .56 | 11.1 |
31. | Oakland | 80 | .42 | 10.5 |
32. | Jacksonville | 74 | .42 | 9.9 |
—Ian Allan