The have hardly been a good offensive team in 2017. been off and on for much of the season, they haven't been able to run the ball effectively, they've struggled to incorporate into the offense and they have relied on defense to win them low-scoring games outside of a two-game explosion against the and . They even traded their No. 1 receiver midseason! So some good news: Carolina looks like it could be coming around after thumping the 45-21 on Monday night in Charlotte. The caveat here is that the Panthers played the Dolphins, a team that does not pa s the eye test when you find out they have four wins. But Miami's defense has been decent this year and it didn't matter against Carolina, with the Panthers racking up yards in gobs, nearly throwing up a 40-burger before the fourth quarter even began. The Panthers had 24 first downs and 419 total yards at the start of the fourth quarter en route to a record night for the offense (more on that in a Elvin Hayes Jersey bit). They diminished the Dolphins' defensive line by loading up with double teams and utilizing the read option to rip off big runs. Things could have been worse, too. Rookie wideout dropped a laser from Newton that should have been a touchdown and a number of other unnece sary poor execution moments led to a slightly slow start. But eventually , who gained 2.8 yards per carry before Week 10, easily cro sed the 100-yard threshold. scored a touchdown. Newton, for the second succe sive week, rushed for more than 80 yards. Newton has now rushed for more yards than he had all of last year. Cam Newton rushing yards 2016 - 3592017 - 367 Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) Some people will nitpick the claims this offseason about Newton not running as much. Whatever. The offense is better in Carolina if they are letting Cam run. He's more comfortable in general, and it's or whatever. Wow. using his WHEELS.69-yard run! Chris Clemons Jersey NFL (@NFL) Carolina is now on a historical rushing run in terms of pounding the rock. Carolina with over 200 yards rushing for the second straight game. First time in franchise history that Carolina had back-to-back 200-yard rushing games. Panthers PR Dept. (@PanthersPR) Newton would finish with 95 rushing yards, 245 pa sing yards and a quartet of touchdown pa ses. This included two to that showcased the young receiver's skillset, including his physicality and speed. For the second time tonight...Cam to Funche s!Newton's 4th TD pa s of the night! NFL (@NFL) Cam also had a very nice audible on a screen pa s to Funche s where the big receiver showed off his speed. Outstanding audible by Newton. Funche s runs it in for an easy TD Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) The rookie's getting it goingChristian McCaffrey didn't have the eye-popping numbers you might hope, but he did find the end zone twice and appeared to be getting things going a bit on offense. McCaffrey has had a slow start to his NFL career, especially in the rushing sense. He hasn't nece sarily looked comfortable running between the tackles and it has felt like, at times, the Panthers forced him the ball in the red zone. Monday was a reminder of just how filthy he can be when he's moving in space. McCaffrey had multiple moments where he put some serious juke moves on, including this touchdown where he destroyed . Give it to ...And he's IN!TD ! NFL (@NFL) This was not the only time McCaffrey managed to hurt Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso. He also shattered his ankles on an early Kenyon Martin Jr. Jersey pa s in the flat to pick up a first down. Suffice to say, Alonso will not think back fondly about this evening in Charlotte. Kiko Alonso is gonna see McCaffrey in his nightmares. Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) "It was good. It's always good to get in the end zone," McCaffrey said on ESPN after the game.Don't sleep on McCaffrey laying out some big-time blocks in the pa sing and running game. Newton, per Suzy Kolber of ESPN, has talked about McCaffrey being an unselfish player for a high-profile rookie. He's starting to get things going a little bit here.Record day for offense merely the beginning?The Panthers aren't going to get a shot Sterling Brown Jersey at Miami every week -- they scored a touchdown on five consecutive drives and with 548 total yards of offense, per the A sociated Pre s -- but they're now 7-3 and headed into their bye week. The Panthers are going to get back after their Week 11 open date, and they'll probably get center back as well. Carolina gets the on the road after the bye and also have the Aaron Rodgers-le s as well as the likely Jameis Winston-le s on the schedule. They should win 10-plus games and will have a huge NFC South matchup against the coming shortly. Primetime nightmare If it feels like you've seen a lot of the Dolphins on your television lately, well, you have. They've been featured in a primetime game for three consecutive weeks now on different networks. The results were not great. Miami lost 44-0 to the on "Thursday Night Football" back in Week 8, then followed it up with a 27-24 lo s on "Sunday Night Football" to the last week, and then got blasted into oblivion by the Panthers 45-21 in a game that wasn't as remotely close as the numbers indicated. Look, do we need to rehash the Dolphins' performance? They were . They did manage their first rushing touchdown of the season. In Week 10. So there's that. 66. Yards. To. The. House. takes it all the way! NFL (@NFL) is an incredible player, and this is an interception borne out of being a film junkie and always being ahead of the play, but can't throw this pa s. LUUUUUUUUUUUUKE. intercepts Jay James Harden Jersey Cutler! NFL (@NFL) The game was 10-7 Panthers at this point and the Dolphins had a shot of making things interesting. Carolina would score, get the ball back after halftime and completely decimate Miami. Somehow, the Dolphins aren't out of the playoff race yet. They're 4-5 now and just a single game back of the for the No. 6 spot in the AFC side of the bracket. Some ugly team is going to end up in the postseason.What's nextThe Panthers head into their open week at 7-3 and feeling pretty good about where they stand. They'll get two weeks to get healthy and prep for a matchup against the Jets in the Meadowlands. That's not a must-win game but it's a should-win game with the break and the quality of the Jets; a win there and Carolina can start thinking about the postseason.The Dolphins will square off against the Buccaneers in a makeup game; their Week 1 matchup was postponed by Hurricane Irma. That is a game no one should want to watch, but it's going to have some bearing on the AFC playoff race because Miami, with two more games left against the Patriots, badly needs a victory.
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