Football

Carolina Panthers' Christian McCaffrey sets NFL RB reception record with 106

By Jon Ackerman Dec 24, 2018
Carolina Panthers' Christian McCaffrey (22) runs against Atlanta on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

As the Carolina Panthers’ slide continues, Christian McCaffrey’s rise continues. Though the Panthers (6-9) dropped their seventh consecutive game on Sunday, the star running back broke the NFL’s single-season receiving record for a running back.

McCaffrey’s 12 catches against Atlanta gave him 106 on the season, topping the previous best for a RB of 102 by Matt Forte in 2014 with Chicago. It also topped the previous best in the McCaffrey family — his dad, Ed, was a wide receiver and set a career-high mark of 101 catches with Denver in 2000.

With 101 rushing yards on the day, McCaffrey also surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season (1,080 with one game remaining). That makes him just the third running back in NFL history to grab 100 catches and gain 1,000 yards rushing in the same season, joining Forte and LaDainian Tomlinson.

“(Christian) is one of the best I’ve ever been around, both from a talent standpoint and character, and the way he carries himself each and every week, the way he takes care of his body, preparation,” Carolina center Ryan Kalil said after Sunday’s game. “I wish I played with a dozen McCaffreys, because we wouldn’t lose a game.”

Somehow, McCaffrey was left off this year’s Pro Bowl rosters. While he hopes to one day make it to a Pro Bowl, that’s not the ultimate reason he plays the game.

“When you see me take the field, know that I’m playing for more than just football. I have a strong faith in God,” McCaffrey wrote in the Players’ Tribune in 2016. “I don’t think He’s looking down on me and hoping that I score touchdowns. Nah, He just wants to see that I did my absolute best on that particular day.”

Doing his best doesn’t just pertain to the football field, either. In March, McCaffrey and his brothers helped save the life of a fallen hiker:

The eighth overall pick in 2017 out of Stanford, McCaffrey will close the season Sunday in New Orleans against the 13-2 Saints.

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