CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera wanted to set the record straight on Friday: No, the Panthers don’t have special packages for rookie running back Christian McCaffrey.

What he said they have is an offense with packages that include McCaffrey, some of them with the former Stanford running back as the primary target.

“It’s funny," Rivera said as he looked ahead to Sunday’s home opener against the Buffalo Bills. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, you have all these packages for one guy.’ No, you don’t. You just have the guy in and it may start with him, but if they give you a different look we won’t force it.

Christian McCaffrey had 13 carries and five receptions on seven targets in the opener. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

“If they’ve got seven in the box, hand the ball off. ... This is just our offense. Personnel groupings are the difference."

The Panthers used a lot of those groupings in Sunday’s 23-3 season-opening victory at San Francisco to give opponents something to think about when preparing for them.

“That’s all part of it," Rivera said. “If you line Christian up over here and only do one thing with him, well then they’ll know. Now you’ve got him over here, you’re motioning him over here, you’re running this and that action ...

“That’s why you do it, to show it to people so now they’ve got a lot to work on."

McCaffrey was in for 70 percent of the offensive snaps (47 of 67) against the 49ers. He rushed 13 times for 47 yards and caught five of seven targets for 48 yards.

His role wasn’t much different than that of Buffalo running back LeSean McCoy, except McCoy was more the featured back instead of a running back, slot receiver, wide receiver and fullback like McCaffrey.

McCoy also played 70 percent (54 of 77 plays) of his team’s snaps. He rushed 22 times for 110 yards and caught five of six targets for 49 yards.

McCaffrey actually grew up studying McCoy, more of an all-purpose back like him.

“In college I probably saw every single run there is on him,’’ McCaffrey said. “He’s a heck of a player, a guy I’ve seen a lot of film on. He kind of blazed the trails for guys like us. He’s one of them.’’

Rivera said second-round pick Curtis Samuel, who can play slot receiver and running back, also is closer to contributing to the offense. Samuel missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury that slowed his progression.

He was in for only 12 snaps in the opener and wasn’t targeted once.

“He’s getting better and better," Rivera said. “Because of that, the things we want him to do are increasing."

Rivera made it clear he wanted Buffalo coach Sean McDermott to know that so he’d have that to worry about in addition to McCaffrey.