THE Washington Commanders return home Sunday to host the Carolina Panthers at Northwest Stadium. After suffering a hard-fought loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week, the Commanders look to bounce back with a win against the struggling Panthers.
The 1-5 Panthers benched second-year quarterback Bryce Young following the team’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton took over in Week 3 and led the Panthers to their first (and only) victory of 2024. The Panthers still have a lot to build on, even if everything isn’t can’t be fixed by replacing your quarterback.
Commanders, on the other hand, have a different mindset this week: a “Let’s do it” attitude. Behind Jayden Daniels, the team is motivated. That said, there are three reasons to be optimistic heading into their Week 7 matchup against the Panthers.
The Panthers are not the Ravens
Let’s be real: the Panthers team is not the same as the Ravens team. Andy Dalton is not Lamar Jackson and Chuba Hubbard is not Derrick Henry. The Commanders defense still needs work, but the Panthers will have a much harder time getting down the field than the Ravens did last week.
Take away the loss that exposed the defensive weaknesses, because even if the Panthers attack those weaknesses, you can be sure Dan Quinn has them locked down this week.
The Panthers have the second-worst run defense
When Jayden Daniels is your quarterback and Brian Robinson Jr. is your best running back, the ground game is a big part of the offense. Daniels is very capable of passing the ball, but the running game has been the meat and potatoes of the Commanders this season.
Heading into Week 7, the Panthers have the second-worst run defense in the league. This bodes very well for an offense that prefers to keep the ball on the ground. The Panthers’ pass defense is also ranked in the bottom 10, so expect Daniels to pick up some yards on Sunday.
Commanders have the right mentality
This team has been through a lot over the last decade, not only on the field but off the field as well. It took a while to get the right coach in place, but Dan Quinn certainly has his players in the right frame of mind this season. Yes, they lost last week, but they are not giving up. They returned to work this week to address the issues we saw and make changes.
These players walk around with their heads held high and a chip on their shoulders because everyone expects them to fall off the radar. But that hasn’t happened and it doesn’t look like it will. This is partly because winning promotes positive team morale, partly because Quinn says and does the right things, and partly because of his “hold my beer and I’ll show you” attitude. .
Mindset matters. Team morale matters. As long as those two things stay the same in Washington, they are well on their way to a winning season.
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This article was originally published on Commanders Wire: Commanders vs Panthers: 3 reasons to be optimistic
