Commanders Vs. Panthers – Studs and Duds

If you were looking for a stress-free Sunday afternoon, the game delivered just that. There was really no doubt from start to finish in this contest as the Commanders defense came out and set the tone early with a pick-six from Dante Fowler. Washington would cruise to an easy 40-7 victory.

It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns for Washington, however, as rookie phenom Jayden Daniels had to leave the game in the first quarter in what is being described as a rib injury. He later returned to the sidelines in street clothes and was seen giving fans the “thumbs-up”, providing hope that his injury is not that serious. Marcus Mariota played very well in his absence as the offense really didn’t miss a beat against an inferior opponent. But with Chicago coming to town next week, Daniels’ health will be something to monitor.

Below are my Studs of the game followed by some notes.

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Studs:

Dante Fowler – Fowler started the scoring with a pick-six on the Commander’s first defensive series of the game. He would go on to add a sack, tackle for a loss on a fourth and one play, and multiple pressures on the afternoon.

Marcus Mariota – Mariota looked a bit shaky when he first came into the game cold off the bench. It didn’t take him long to heat up however. He showed great command of the offense, throwing for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 18 completions with just five incompletions (two of which were drops). He also chipped in 34 rushing yards.

Brian Robinson – Although he didn’t get the start in this game, Robinson was certainly the workhorse, garnering 12 carries for 71 yards and a tough touchdown run. He probably would have had more if the coaching staff didn’t limit his workload a bit.

Terry McLaurin – No Jayden Daniels, no worries for Terry. He and Mariota quickly got on the same page, and he finished with a team-leading six receptions and 98 receiving yards. He probably would have had a lot more if the score was even remotely close.

Frankie Luvu – Luvu is the unquestioned leader of this defense and he showed how special he is with a great performance against his former team. He had four tackles, two for a loss, a sack and multiple pressures on the afternoon.

Mike Sainristil – The rookie cornerback is really coming into his own. Sainristil had some very nice open-field tackles (one of them for a loss), showed really good coverage (had a pass defended) all while leading the team in tackles with seven.

Commanders Offensive Line – Besides a few penalties and a few blocking gaffes, this unit played very well against the Panthers front seven, leading the way for over 420 total yards of offense. Washington’s ball carriers averaged 5,8 yards per carry and the unit did a pretty nice job keeping Mariota clean.

Austin Seibert – Seibert was perfect on the day, going four-for-four on his field goal attempts (with a long of 49) and converting all four of his extra points.

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Duds:

I searched pretty hard but could not find any.

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Notes:

• Emmanuel Forbes saw some playing time and recorded an interception. Hey, it’s a start…

• I was excited to see Sinnott catch his first touchdown pass of his young career. Hopefully this is the start of many more to come.

• Brandon Coleman got his first start of the season at left tackle. He played pretty well before leaving with a head injury.
• Zach Ertz had a nice afternoon, catching four passes for 40 yards and a touchdown. It didn’t take him long to find his stride with Mariota.
• Noah Igbinoghene is continuing to show he can play at a high level. Maybe a change of scenery was all it took for the former first rounder. He was second on the team with six tackles, all solo.

• McNichols is a tough runner who blocks well and also flashes on special teams. I see why he made the team.
• Kliff Kingsbury continues to call great games!