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VIDEO: Remembering When Christian McCaffrey Fooled the Entire Saints Defense With a Record-Setting Trick Play

By michael obermuller

Christian McCaffrey's trick pass touchdown was the longest by a running back.
Christian McCaffrey's trick pass touchdown was the longest by a running back. / NFL on Twitter
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The Carolina Panthers' playoff hopes were still alive in Week 15 of the 2018 season, as they were 6-7 heading into a matchup with NFC South rivals the New Orleans Saints.

The Panthers ultimately lost this game and went on to miss the playoffs, but they certainly pulled out all the stops.

Going for it on 4th and 2 in the first quarter, the Panthers appeared to be trusting star running back Christian McCaffrey to run for the first down. And the Saints bought it, being left in the dust when blocking tight end Chris Manhertz took off down the field and McCaffrey hit him with a pass.

The New Orleans Saints defense is usually known more for its blunders than its highlights, and you can add this one to the list.

Even just having one player read the play and fall back in coverage could have prevented this, as Manhertz doesn't have the speed to blow by most defenders. Instead, every single Saint swarms McCaffrey, and Manhertz is almost ten yards clear of all NOLA players by the time he receives the pass.

This record-setter became the longest touchdown pass by a running back (excluding a fake punt touchdown pass from the Philadelphia Eagles' RB/special teamer Brian Mitchell in 2002) in the Super Bowl era, even though McCaffrey didn't have to throw the ball far. McCaffrey has gone on to dominate the NFL as one of the top dual-threat RB's in the game, but perhaps we should start considering him a triple threat.

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Michael Obermuller is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Michael Obermuller also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username king_mizzard. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.