Carolina Panthers: Can Cameron Artis-Payne add another layer?

The New York Giants know a thing or two about ruining undefeated seasons, but the Carolina Panthers were able to pull out an epic overtime victory even without the services of feature back Jonathan Stewart, who was capably replaced by rookie Cameron Artis-Payne on Sunday.

As of right now, the Carolina Panthers are first in the league in scoring offense, buoyed by the fact that they lead all teams in rushing attempts. Not only has Cam Newton been, as always, a terror on the ground, but Jonathan Stewart has picked up where he left off last season, churning out 989 rushing yards and a robust 76.1 yards per game.

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However, the injury bug finally hit J-Stew again, as he was unable to face the Giants last week due to a foot injury. Today, the Charlotte Observer’s Jonathan Jones reported that Stewart was not seen at practice, and while it is still early in the week, there’s concern that he might not be able to play against the rival Atlanta Falcons.

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The last time the Panthers played the Falcons, Stewart and the offense beat Dan Quinn’s defense into submission. With 142 yards on the ground in a 38-0 win, the Panthers slaughtered their prey at Bank of America Stadium, as Stewart needed just ten carries to finish with 75 yards and a TD.

If Stewart misses a second straight game, the focus will turn to Auburn Tigers fifth-round pick Cameron Artis-Payne, who is coming off of his first career game as a lead ball-carrier in the NFL. The more well-rounded Fozzy Whittaker was supposed to get the “start”, but Artis-Payne’s status as the Panthers leaders in carries came as no surprise to astute observers.

For the most part, Artis-Payne was impressive, as he turned 14 carries into 59 yards, mostly on the strength of one big run for 26 yards in the fourth quarter. He wasn’t great, but Artis-Payne had a little bit more juice than I expected. Maybe more importantly, he showed up nicely in the passing game, absorbing two catches for 34 yards with some surprisingly solid blitz pick-up for a rookie.

The Falcons defense is coming off of a mighty performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars ground game, but it wasn’t exactly difficult to render Denard Robinson a non-factor in Week 15. The Panthers running game and offensive line are significantly better, and Artis-Payne is a bigger back who is theoretically more difficult to stuff at the line of scrimmage.

As a whole, the Falcons run defense has been a real positive, as the beefy front seven has held opposing backs to under four yards per carry. However, in the three games prior to their shutdown of “Shoelace” and the Jaguars, the Falcons struggled against a gauntlet of elite backs. Adrian Peterson, J-Stew, Doug Martin, and even underrated change-of-pace guy Charles Sims all had notable success against Atlanta. In that three-game span, the Falcons allowed 191, 166, and 142 yards before nullifying the overmatched Jaguars ground game.

Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Cameron Artis-Payne (34) runs the ball against the New York Giants during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Giants 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

This all presents Artis-Payne with an opportunity to have an even better Week 16, and back-to-back positive performances could make him a factor in this Panthers offense.

When healthy, J-Stew absolutely must be the lead back, as he’s clearly proven to be a top-ten back in the league with yet another excellent season. Cam, of course, deserves to come in second in carries, but there could still be room for Artis-Payne to move the ball, particularly in between the tackles.

A former Auburn star, Artis-Payne knows just how important a run-heavy offense can be, and he could be yet another layer for the Panthers offense if he gets another big workload.

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The Panthers will have to balance their desire to go undefeated and their desire to remain healthy when it comes to deciding J-Stew’s Week 16 status, and on their minds is likely Stewart’s past injury history.

Whatever the case, Artis-Payne remains an intriguing player to both Panthers fans and fantasy players, so we’ll see if he gets another opportunity to make a statement as a rookie against an NFC South rival this week.

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