Breaking down Carolina's two explosive touchdown plays against Arizona

[Sir Purr]

The play is designed for Moore, who ran a deep dig into space that had been cleared out by Wright, who took his man straight down the field.


With the Cardinals in man coverage, it had big-play potential written all over it. But Arizona cornerback Tramaine Brock Sr.’s trepidation nearly worked in his favor. The corner was beaten so badly by Wright, he slowed down and didn't seem sure what to do as safety D.J. Swearinger Sr. began to move to cover Wright.


“I knew I was clearing out, but it doesn’t always work out like that,” Wright said. “There’s a lot of things that go into it – that’s football. But that worked out perfectly.”


The ball from quarterback Kyle Allen was on time, but it nearly hit Brock Sr. square in the back. Nearly being the key word there. Unbeknownst to Brock Sr., Moore secured the catch in stride behind him. Swearinger was now of position as he too ran toward Wright, so a huge lane opened up for Moore to sprint to the end zone down the right side of the field.


“You forgot about me!” Samuel interjected as Wright was breaking the play down. “My role? I was running fast! Faster than DJ!”


That’s right, Samuel saw Moore with the ball in the open field and got in the way of linebacker Jordan Hicks. Wright also got into the action by throwing a shoulder into safety Budda Baker.


“They both get all the credit,” Moore said with a smile.


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But Moore’s 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown wasn’t the biggest play of the day. That honor goes to running back Christian McCaffrey, who produced the longest touchdown run in franchise history – a 76-yarder in the third quarter.


It was second-and-2 and the Panthers looked intent on running the ball with two tight ends and fullback Alex Armah in the game.


Greg Olsen motioned into the backfield and he and left guard Greg Van Roten pulled to lead the way for McCaffrey. But the right side of the line really opened things up, with right tackle Taylor Moton sealing the edge of the crease and tight end Chris Manhertz working his way to the second level.