Getting the offense in gear

PATCHING TOGETHER A RUN GAME

The Panthers will be without running back Christian McCaffrey the rest of the season, but they were without him in Week 8 ad they put together a season-best rushing attack.

The Panthers ran 47 times for 203 yards that day, the kind of complementary offense (it wasn’t flashy, but effective) they needed in a close game.

They relied on the committee of Chuba Hubbard and Ameer Abdullah, with some contributions from Sam Darnold and the since-departed Royce Freeman. Darnold’s been replaced by Cam Newton (who, as you may have heard, is OK at running the ball).

Abdullah, the veteran of the group, insisted there was no change in their preparation this week (despite all the changes around him), and talked about the importance of eliminating penalties that have wiped some productive runs off the board. “That’s where it starts, mentally not beating ourselves,” he said.

He also said they didn’t particularly realize the game had gotten that run-heavy until the fourth quarter.

“Nah, it’s all about the flow of the game,” he said. “As players, we do whatever’s called. We don’t have any expectations; when you do that, and you put all your eggs in one basket, you might not like the result if that doesn’t work. So we just respond.

“Until we looked up, we didn’t realize how well we had run the ball. But every week is a different week. This is a different Atlanta team, and we’re respecting that.”

Of course, the Falcons have had their own struggles of late on defense, allowing 25 or more points in four of their last five games.