Panthers vs. Chargers Week 3 Vegas spread: Odds on the move with Christian McCaffrey out injured

The rebuilding Carolina Panthers have been very competitive thus far under first-year head coach Matt Rhule, but they are 0-2 and will now be without superstar running back Christian McCaffrey for "multiple weeks" due to an ankle injury suffered in Sunday's loss at Tampa Bay. ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report it. McCaffrey has never missed a game in his pro career.

Needless to say, anyone who bet McCaffrey to lead the NFL in rushing or rushing touchdowns this season is going to lose that wager. McCaffrey was +1200 at William Hill sportsbook on the yards prop and +850 on the touchdowns. Last year, he became just the third player in league history with a 1,000-yard rushing and receiving season.  His 116 catches were an NFL record for a running back.

McCaffrey rushed for two scores and 97 yards along with three catches for 38 yards in a Week 1 loss to the Raiders and rushed 18 times for 59 yards and two scores while catching four passes for 29 yards in Sunday's defeat vs. the Bucs. He was noticeably limping after that second TD and was removed from the game. McCaffrey's four rushing TDs are tied for the league lead with New England quarterback Cam Newton. The only other Panther to score a TD this season is receiver Robby Anderson with one.

The Panthers made McCaffrey the NFL's highest-paid running back during the offseason with a four-year, $64 million extension. Veteran Mike Davis is the backup to McCaffrey and special teams player Trenton Cannon is the only other running back on the active roster. Reggie Bonnafon is on the practice squad.

It could be too late for Carolina to perhaps chase free-agent running back Devonta Freeman, the former Pro Bowler for the Atlanta Falcons. The New York Giants lost star running back Saquon Barkley to a reported season-ending ACL injury Sunday and are hosting Freeman on Tuesday.

In many a Fantasy league, McCaffrey and Barkley were the top two overall picks.

Carolina visits the Los Angeles Chargers this Sunday. With the McCaffrey news, the NFL spread already has moved from Chargers -6.5 to -7.5 at William Hill and could continue to rise.

Who wins every NFL game this week? And which teams cover more than 50 percent of the time? Get picks here from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks.