Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Christian McCaffrey stopped inches short of goal line on final play of loss to Packers

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 11/10/19

The Carolina Panthers lost 24-16 to the Green Bay Packers in the most heartbreaking fashion on Sunday.

Carolina had the ball with 2:24 left and drove all the way down to the Green Bay 2-yard line. They threw an incomplete pass on a 4th-and-1 from the four, but an offside penalty gave them new life.

Even though Carolina only had eight seconds, they got two cracks at the end zone. They threw an incompletion on the first shot, and then with the game on the line, they gave the ball to Christian McCaffrey. He got stuffed initially but was pulled towards the goal line by teammate Greg Van Roten.

Greg Van Roten tried his best to drag Christian McCaffrey into the end zone

almost pic.twitter.com/mkcWr3HFiU

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 11, 2019

McCaffrey was ruled to have gone down inches short of the goal line.

It's a game of inches… pic.twitter.com/Mn4RpTCe1q

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) November 11, 2019

Had the Panthers running back tried to reach out and extend the ball, perhaps he would have gotten the touchdown call. There was no reason not to do so since that was the last play of the game, meaning it was a missed opportunity for McCaffrey.

Keep in mind that even if Carolina was ruled to have scored, they would have had to convert their 2-point attempt just to tie the game, so they were still a ways away from tying, much less winning.

Going back to their Week 2 loss against Tampa Bay, this is the second time this season the Panthers have lost on a failed McCaffrey run near the goal line.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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