McCaffrey, Darnold, Mixed-Reality Beast: Panthers Talking Points

CHARLOTTE, NC —The Carolina Panthers opened the season Sunday at home with a 19-14 win over the New York Jets.

The game was highlighted by a fine performance by running back Christian McCaffrey (21 carries for 98 yards and nine catches for 89 yards) and a solid Panthers debut by quarterback Sam Darnold (24 of 35 passing for 279 yards and a touchdown) against his former team. The Panthers acquired Darnold, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, in an April trade.

Another talking point after the game, was the debut of the team's "mixed-reality" Panther mascot, a giant beast with glowing eyes that was edited into a live feed of the stadium and shown on the video screens.

USA Today's Nate Davis wrote:

"Welcome back, Christian McCaffrey. After an All-Pro effort in 2019, when he led the league with 2,392 yards from scrimmage, McCaffrey played in just three games in 2020. But he was back in force Sunday against the New York Jets and produced 187 combined yards – his most since Nov. 17, 2019 – which puts him on pace for 3,179 in the new 17-game format. Yes, that would smash the current record (2,509 by Chris Johnson in 2009)."

ESPN.com's David Newton wrote:

"The jury is still out on quarterback Sam Darnold. While the third pick of the 2018 draft was efficient against his former team in Sunday's win against the Jets, it should not have been that close. Carolina scored one touchdown on four trips inside the New York 10-yard line, continuing a red zone issue that plagued it last season. Darnold only proved he can play well against a bad team."

New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro wrote:

"The worst fear of every Jets fan entering Sunday’s season opener was realized: Darnold showing up the team that drafted him with the No. 3-overall pick in 2018 and quit on him after three disappointing and unproductive seasons in green.

"Darnold, of course, never had a player on the Jets with a fraction of the talent of Panthers all-everything running back Christian McCaffrey."

Deadspin's Donovan Dooley wrote:

"The Carolina Panthers are going to be an interesting football team to watch this season. But they won't be more interesting than the new mixed-reality mascot that they have jumping around their stadium in Charlotte.

"I'm not going to lie, seeing that semi-fake panther jumping all over the place was both incredibly cool and incredibly weird."

Here is the video that was shown of the "mixed-reality" mascot inside the stadium: