CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Don’t be surprised if the Carolina Panthers rest running back Jonathan Stewart for a second straight week.
Stewart, who suffered a foot sprain in a Dec. 13 win against Atlanta, did not play on Sunday against the New York Giants and he wasn’t at practice on Tuesday as the Panthers (14-0) prepare to face Atlanta again.
The Panthers went with a three-man rotation of Mike Tolbert, Fozzy Whittaker and rookie Cameron Artis-Payne against the Giants.
Artis-Payne led that group with 14 carries for 59 yards and two catches for 34 yards while playing a season-high 32 snaps. His previous high was 15 in the fourth game. He got a positive grade (0.7) from Pro Football Focus.
Don’t be surprised to see Artis-Payne take on a bigger role against the Falcons.
“He did well,’’ Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. “He handled his opportunities very nicely. He had a couple of big runs that he popped. He had a couple of runs that he had to power up inside and he was able to grind out four-, five-yard gains.
“He looked a little tentative a couple of times. He kind of tippy-toed a little bit. A little bit. He’s out of practice. He was a little rusty.’’
But, overall, Rivera said Artis-Payne was “kind of who we thought he would be.’’
The biggest mistake from the former Auburn star came in the fourth quarter when he and quarterback Cam Newton muffed the exchange on a read-option play. The fumble was credited to Newton, but both were at fault.
“That’s something they’ve got to get used to,’’ Rivera said. “[Artis-Payne] knowing 'He’s going to give it to me.' Or on Cam’s side, he’s got to know, 'He’s not going to let it go, I’ve got to let it go.' ’’
