
The Washington Commanders got a commanding performance from the entire team allowing them to completely pulverize the Carolina Panthers 40-7 much to the delight of the 63,380 home fans at Northwest Stadium.
The victory was bittersweet as their rookie sensation quarterback Jayden Daniels was injured and had to leave the game in the first quarter. The diagnosed rib injury has him as a game time decision to play in the upcoming game against the Chicago Bears. (He played story to follow).
Fortunately, the Commanders were playing the Carolina defense and with veteran backup Marcus Mariota suddenly under center they did not miss a beat.
He finished the game 18 of 23 for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Similar to Daniels, Mariota is a dual threat quarterback and finished with 34 yards on 11 carries.
Brian Robinson Jr. back in the lineup after sitting out the Ravens game, carried the ball 12 times for 71 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Terry McLaurin led the team with six catches for 98 yards. Tight end Zach Ertz had four catches for 40 yards and his first touchdown of the season.
The Commander’s defense was led by Dante Fowler Jr. who returned an interception 67-yards for a touchdown giving them a 7-0 lead with 11:14 to go in the first quarter.
Kicker Austin Seibert tacked on a 23-yard field goal giving Washington a 10-0 first quarter lead.
The second quarter saw the Commanders take command of the game. First, Robinson scored on an eight-yard touchdown burst. Next, Seibert added a 49-yard field goal and finally Ertz caught a 12-yard scoring strike from Mariota and suddenly the Commanders has a 27-0 lead with 10 seconds to go before the half.
After the half Washington kept the foot on the gas and saw tight end Ben Sinnott catch a three-yard touchdown pass, the first of his career and Seibert kept doing his thing adding a 31-yard field goal increasing their lead to 37-0 with 1:33 to go in the third quarter much to the delight of the home crowd.
The Panthers avoided a shut out with a Chuba Hubbard four-yard touchdown run but Seibert countered with a 29-yard field goal making the final score 40-7 with 4:55 remaining in the game and sending the home crowd home happy.
The Commanders did not let losing their starting quarterback distract them from their game plan improving to (5-2) good enough for first place in the NFC East Division.
The team stats completely favored the Commanders as they finished with 421 total yards compared to just 180 for Carolina. They also had 26 first downs to just 10 for the Panthers and rushed for 214 yards while limiting the Panthers to just 95 yards rushing.
The Commander defense was led by Mike Sainristil who finished with seven tackles and Noah Igbinoghene who finished with six tackles along with Bobby Wagner and Jeremy Chinn. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. also shined with an interception.
Washington dominated the Time of Possession 35:05 to 24:55 and only attempted one punt, a forty-yarder by Tress Way.
Carolina was led in passing by Andy Dalton who threw 16 passes completing 11 for 93 yards and two interceptions. They were led in rushing by Hubbard who finished with 52 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown and receiver Ja’Tavion Sanders led the pass catchers with six receptions for 61 yards in a losing effort for the (1-6) Panthers.