Lea: Darnold shows growth leading Panthers to win after CMC injury

By Chris Lea, WRAL-TV sports anchor/reporter

The disappointments of the last few seasons has rarely put the Carolina Panthers in position to be favorites in many of their games. After this year's 2-0 start to the season, not just the wins, but how the Panthers have won, now has the NFL on alert.

The Panthers came into tonight's game against the Houston Texans with the number one defense in the NFL and heavily favored on the road. Rare air for the Panthers in recent memory. But how would they handle the pressure of being heavily favored and to have all the analysts to pick them to win? Here's what I saw from my television in this game:

• Sam Darnold - It wasn't a horrible game for Sam Darnold, who's still rehabbing his reputation from the New York Jets, going 23-34 for 305 yards and rushing for two touchdowns. There were drops from Chuba Hubbard, Robby Anderson and others that didn't help Darnold. What also didn't help him was the offensive line, who gave up three sacks. Two of those sacks were strip sacks, which the Panthers were able to recover. Even though Darnold held the ball too long and needed to use two hands holding it before the throw, he still shouldn't have been in those situations. Overall though, it's encouraging to see that despite the coverage lapses, despite the mistakes, despite the injuries, Darnold continued to play with poise and was able to lead the Panthers to another win. The stats aren't eye-popping, but they're solid. Darnold didn't lose the game for the Panthers, he managed it. That's all he needs to do.

• McCaffrey injured again - In the second quarter Christian McCaffrey left the game with a hamstring injury after gaining 40 yards from scrimmage and nine total touches. Even though McCaffrey is known for the detail he puts into his recovery and workouts, his 5'11", 205 pound frame was always a concern with all the touches he gets in this Panthers offense. Last season he missed 13 games with various injuries. Right now, we're not sure if this hamstring injury will keep him out in future games. Even though the Panthers signed CMC to a $64 Million extension last year, I think it'll be in their best interest to build a deeper running back room to protect this asset. Yes, the Panthers drafted Chuba Hubbard in this year's NFL Draft, but they'll need more than him to take some pressure off of CMC. CMC may not need to be a 30 touch per game guy for the sake of health, so General Manager Scott Fitterer should start thinking about ways to add to the running back room in the offseason. As Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith said on the game broadcast, "this offense is struggling to find its identity, because their identity is on the sideline." Their identity should not be tied up into one person, especially not a runningback. (Note: Smith's quote was from the second quarter, the offense looked much better in the second half).

• Panthers Defense - Once again, the Panthers defense is what solidifies a win for this young group. Phil Snow's guys held the Texans to only 193 yards while also racking up four more sacks and eight quarterback hits on rookie Davis Mills III. Third down was huge for the 'D' also, as they held the Texans to 1-9, keeping many drives short. If I have to nitpick on something for the defense, the Texans were able to effectively move the ball when they ran the no-huddle, especially on the drive that led to their only touchdown of the game. The defense started playing a soft zone and let the Texans feel like they had life in the game. The second thing to nitpick is next.

• Penalties - The Texans could barely move the ball in the first quarter and a half. It was penalties on the Panthers that helped them to extend some of those early drives. Silly penalties at that, including three offsides penalties (in the first half). The youngest team in the NFL looked young in their first road game of the season and in prime time in certain situations. Penalties weren't a problem in the first two weeks of the season so this game may be an anomaly, but I fully expect Phil Snow to work with his guys on this in practice next week. The number one defense shouldn't spot offenses extra yards. In total, the Panthers committed eight penalties for 64 yards.