National Post (National Edition)
Running backs running out of luck
It's been a tough year on marquee running backs. Just ask Christian McCaffrey.
The Carolina Panthers multi-purpose superstar finally returned last Sunday from the ankle injury he suffered in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And now he's all but certain to miss this Sunday's game against the Bucs with what Panthers coach Matt Rhule called an AC joint issue.
“It looks like Christian probably won't play,” Rhule said of the former Stanford Cardinal, who had 69 yards rushing, 82 yards receiving and two touchdowns before injuring his shoulder on the Panthers last drive in a 3331 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. “I wouldn't say that's 100 per cent, but it looks like he won't play.”
Rhule doesn't expect McCaffrey's injury to be season-ending.
“We'll see how he is for next week,” he said.
Replacing McCaffrey once again will be Mike Davis, whose been serviceable with 353 yards rushing and two touchdowns, but of course he's no McCaffrey.
Who is?
The eighth pick of the 2017 draft, McCaffrey didn't miss a game in his first three seasons. Last year, he became just the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.
In 2020 he was the first pick in just about everybody's fantasy pool. And then horseshoes randomly started falling on him from the sky.
Again, it's not just McCaffrey, who was the NFL's third-leading rusher in 2019.
❚ No. 2, Cleveland's Nick Chubb, has missed the last five games with a knee injury.
❚ Hampered by a hamstring injury, No. 4, Dallas's Ezekiel Elliott hasn't had a 100-yard day in nine games.
❚ No. 5, Seattle's Chris Carson, has missed the last 21/2 games with a hamstring.
❚ No. 7, Tampa's Leonard Fournette, has missed one game with an ankle injury that could be the reason he's been barely (or not at all) used in four others.
❚ No. 9, Cincinnati's Joe Mixon, has missed the last two games with a foot injury.
❚ No. 11, Indy's Marlon Mack, suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 1.
❚ No. 12, Green Bay's Aaron Jones, missed two games with a calf injury.
❚ No. 13, Seattle's Carlos Hyde, has missed two games with a hamstring.
❚ No. 14, Baltimore's Mark Ingram, has missed two games with an ankle.
❚ No. 15, Denver's Phillip Lindsay, missed three games with turf toe.
❚ No. 16, New York Giants' Saquon Barkley, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 2. Barkley would have been much higher than No. 16 last season, but he missed three games and was slowed in others by a high ankle sprain.
Even this season's leading rusher, Minnesota's Dalvin Cook, missed one game with a groin injury. But the Vikings star has also bounced back in a big way.
Cook has had rushing games of 181, 130 and, in the last two weeks, 163 and 206 yards. It's one reason why he's risen in the MVP discussion this season.
That, and the fact he's a marquee running back who has somehow managed to stay relatively healthy. BUFFALO FOREVER: After losing his grandmother last Saturday, Buffalo QB Josh Allen has been blown away by the support Bills fans have shown for him. They've donated more than US$315,000 to Oishei Children's Hospital in memory of Patricia Allen. “My family is forever engraved, myself included,” said Allen, a California native, per ESPN. “I don't ever want to leave. I want to play here for as long as I can and give back to this community and Bills Mafia.” ANOTHER SHINER FOR HOUSTON: From blowing a 24-0 lead to the Chiefs in last season's AFC divisional playoff game, things have continued to slide downhill for the Houston Texans, who traded one of the best receivers in the league, fired their coach and GM and have had a 2-6 first half. The Texans, who could use some good PR as much as anybody, managed to further tarnish their image on Wednesday when they fired widely respected VP of communications Amy Palcic, the first and only woman to have full PR responsibilities for an NFL team. Palcic, who was the winner of the 2017 Rozelle Award for best PR staff, was told she was no longer a “cultural fit”,” ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. Texans DE JJ Watt tweeted that Palcic was a “massive help” in his hurricane relief efforts, adding that whichever team picks her up “will be getting the absolute best in the business.” It's not a good look for the Texans, and it's likely not the last you've heard of this story.