Most of the name players the Panthers have left are on offense.
But it was their defense that helped them snap a five-game losing streak, impressively shutting down Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III in a 21-13 road win.
The Panthers held the Redskins to a pair of field goals for the first 58 minutes, and played exceptional red zone defense to get their first win in Washington in franchise history. They also recorded four sacks, keeping RG3 in front of them effectively.
Cam Newton led a pair of 90-plus yard touchdown drives, with the big play an 82-yard pass to Armanti Edwards which set up Newton’s touchdown run. He also found Steve Smith for the veteran wideout’s first touchdown of the year, and the Panthers got a 30-yard touchdown run from DeAngelo Williams.
The loss drops the Redskins to 3-6 heading into their bye, and raises serious questions about their ability to help RG3. They were playing without a full deck, and the receivers out there dropped a number of passes.
Their defense also gave up plays downfield to a team that hadn’t made many, leaving a lot of questions to be answered in the next two weeks.
The Redskins talked about this being a must-win, and they didn’t.
