NFL

Carolina Panthers at Washington Commanders

· National Football League
1-6, 1-3 Away
Final
7 - 40

Commanders lose Jayden Daniels to a rib injury in a 40-7 romp over the Panthers

McAfee: Panthers testing the patience of David Tepper

After Daniels left with a rib injury, the Washington Commanders routed the Carolina Panthers 40-7 on Sunday behind two touchdown passes from Mariota and a 67-yard pick-6 of Andy Dalton by Dante Fowler.

“It takes a little bit to kind of get your feet going and all that, but, yeah, you’re just thinking about the player first and then from there you just go out there and try to to execute,” said Mariota, who was 18 of 23 for 205 yards with TD passes to tight ends Zach Ertz and Ben Sinnott.

Concern over Daniels' status overshadowed the victory after the No. 2 pick and offensive rookie of the year favorite left with a rib injury. His mother posted on social media that “he's fine,” but coach Dan Quinn said only that he had no update and that Daniels would undergo further tests Monday.

The Commanders (5-2) did just fine without Daniels for a vast majority of the game after he had a 46-yard run and completed a couple of passes on their opening possession. They already led at that point thanks to Fowler's pick-6, Andy Dalton's first of two interceptions, the second by Emmanuel Forbes, who returned from being a healthy scratch last week.

After after catching his first interception of any kind in the NFL, Fowler saw open field and thought, “It’s time to go score a touchdown.”

“Man, it was like I was in a dream,” Fowler said.

The defense dominated, allowing 180 yards, stopping seven of 10 third-down chances and sacking Dalton twice.

With Mariota running the show, Washington chugged along and racked up 421 yards against the Panthers (1-6), who allowed the most points through of any team in the Super Bowl era through the first six games of a season.

“Between giving the ball way and just not being able to get off the field, I think they scored on all but one drive,” said Carolina coach Dave Canales, who committed to Dalton starting next week over 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young.

Brian Robinson Jr. also ran for a touchdown in his return from a knee injury, which caused him to miss the game last week at Baltimore — his team's first loss since the opener. The 27-point halftime lead was the franchise's biggest since being up 28-0 on Dallas on Dec. 18, 2005.

Carolina's lost season continued five games into Dalton supplanting Young as the starting QB. Dalton finished 11 of 16 for 93 yards, and Young entered in mop-up duty with 4:55 left, completing two passes for negative yardage.

“It got out of our hands quick,” Dalton said. "We have to look ourselves in the mirror and say, ‘Why do these games keep going like this?’ I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Chuba Hubbard was limited to 52 yards on 17 carries after averaging averaging over 100 over the past four weeks. He ran for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter long after the outcome was decided and fans who were doing the wave earlier long departed to beat the traffic.

“At the end of the day, we won handily and I think the defense did an unbelievable job,” said Terry McLaurin, Washington's leading receiver with six catches for 98 yards.

Injuries Panthers: RB Raheem Blackshear left with a shoulder injury from a kickoff return midway through the third quarter. ... TE Tommy Tremble (back) was inactive after being listed as questionable.

Commanders: In addition to losing Daniels, rookie LT Brandon Coleman was concussed in the first half.

Up next Panthers: At Denver next Sunday.

Commanders: Host Chicago next Sunday.

How can I watch Panthers vs. Commanders?

  • TV Channel: Panthers at Commanders 2021-22 NFL, week 7 is broadcasted nationally on CBS and NFL Sunday Ticket - Paramount+ NFL on CBS 2021 - Try it FREE!.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch Panthers vs. Commanders on DAZN.

Matchup Prediction

Commanders: 72.5%
Panthers: 27.3%
*According to ESPN's Football Power Index

Scoring Summary

WSH TD 1st Period 11:14 Dante Fowler Jr. 67 Yd Interception Return (Austin Seibert Kick)
WSH FG 1st Period 3:18 Austin Seibert 23 Yd Field Goal
WSH TD 2nd Period 11:35 Brian Robinson Jr. 8 Yd Run (Austin Seibert Kick)
WSH FG 2nd Period 5:39 Austin Seibert 49 Yd Field Goal
WSH TD 2nd Period 0:10 Zach Ertz 12 Yd pass from Marcus Mariota (Austin Seibert Kick)
WSH TD 3rd Period 8:53 Ben Sinnott 3 Yd pass from Marcus Mariota (Austin Seibert Kick)
WSH FG 3rd Period 1:33 Austin Seibert 31 Yd Field Goal
CAR TD 4th Period 11:38 Chuba Hubbard 4 Yd Run (Eddy Pineiro Kick)
WSH FG 4th Period 4:55 Austin Seibert 29 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/car.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCAR https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH
10 1st Downs 26
5 Passing 1st downs 12
5 Rushing 1st downs 10
0 1st downs from penalties 4
3-10 3rd down efficiency 5-10
0-1 4th down efficiency 0-0
43 Total Plays 63
180 Total Yards 421
4.2 Yards per Play 6.7
10 Total Drives 9
85 Passing 207
13/18 Comp/Att 20/25
4.3 Yards per pass 8.0
2 Interceptions thrown 0
2-4 Sacks-Yards Lost 1-4
95 Rushing 214
23 Rushing Attempts 37
4.1 Yards per rush 5.8
1-1 Red Zone (Made-Att) 3-6
6-59 Penalties 8-55
2 Turnovers 0
0 Fumbles lost 0
2 Interceptions thrown 0
0 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 1
24:55 Possession 35:05

Game Information

Northwest Stadium

Location: Landover, MD
Attendance: 63,380 · Capacity:

2024 NFC South Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Atlanta 5 3 .625 0 194 195
Tampa Bay 4 4 .500 0 235 213
New Orleans 2 6 .250 0 185 206
Carolina 1 7 .125 0 124 271

2024 NFC East Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Washington 6 2 .750 0 236 167
Philadelphia 5 2 .714 0 171 132
Dallas 3 4 .429 0 150 198
New York 2 6 .250 0 117 175
Full Standings

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