Game balls | Four standouts from Washington's win over Carolina

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The Washington Commanders got back to their winning ways with a convincing 40-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 7. Marcus Mariota, Mike Sainristil, Dante Fowler Jr. and Frankie Luvu produced in keys ways to propel the Burgundy & Gold to its third win at home of the season.

Marcus Mariota

When Jayden Daniels was ruled out early yesterday with a rib injury, Mariota had two thoughts in quick succession.

"First and foremost, just his health," Mariota said. "You worry about him, and you just want to make sure he's good. And then from there, it's football. It takes a little bit to kinda get your feet going and all that, but yeah, you just think about the player first, and then from there you just go out there and try to execute."

Execute is what he did. After shaking off some rust in his first few snaps, Mariota found his stride, connecting on passes with quick decisions, showing good footwork, scrambling ability and stepping up when his team needed it. The veteran quarterbacks finished Week 7 completing 18 of his 23 passing attempts for 205 yards, two touchdowns and a 132.8 quarterback passer rating.

Following the game Dan Quinn said he was "really proud" of Mariota for how he came in and took the reins of an offense that had yet another exciting outing. Adding to the challenge of being a backup, Mariota started the season on IR. Nonetheless, over the last few weeks, he has put in the work and stayed ready. When his time came, as Quinn said, "there was no flinch."

Coming off the bench to lead an offense that puts up 40 points certainly calls for Mariota taking a bow.

Mike Sainristil

Sainristil showed up to Northwest Stadium on Sunday repping the legendary cornerback Darrell Green, whose No. 28 jersey was officially retired by Washington at halftime yesterday, and the rookie seemed to have channeled some of that Hall of Famer star power throughout the game.

Sainristil was flying all over the field in the win over the Panthers. He showed he would be a problem for the Carolina defense early by reading Andy Dalton's pass to Diontae Johnson and hustling to swat the ball away. In the second quarter, he demonstrated how he could neutralize arguably the Panthers' most potent offensive threat in Chuba Hubbard, pouncing on the running back for no gain to help ensure Carolina's offense couldn't find rhythm. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter as Sainristil hunted down Xavier Legette for a tackle that resulted in a three-yard loss.

From lockdown coverage to throwing blocks, Sainristil, who finished tied for a team-leading six tackles along with six combined tackles, was one of Washington's best players on the field in a special day for the Commanders defense.

Dante Fowler Jr.

Nearly four minutes into the game, Fowler did something he has never done in his entire football career: intercept the ball and take it to the end zone.

"Man, that was so cool," Fowler said after the game. "That was like I was in a dream."

The 30-year-old linebacker made the dream-like play on third-and-9 on the Panthers' opening drive. Andy Dalton put too much weight on his pass intended for Miles Sanders, and Fowler was lurking just behind him. The linebacker secured the ball, evaded a tackle from Dalton and ran 67-yards all the way to the house to give the Commanders an electric start.

That play was Fowler's first career interception and Washington's first pick-six since Week 18 of the 2023 season. It was also Washington's longest touchdown return at home since 2002.

Fowler stacked on top of that big play in the second quarter. With the Panthers on fourth-and-1, Dalton gave the ball to the hard-nosed running Hubbard, who many would think could pick up the bit of yardage in that situation. Fowler, though, stopped the running back, tackling him for a loss of two yards and forcing a turnover on downs. In the third quarter, Fowler also tacked on a sack, bringing down Dalton on first-and-10 in what would be an eventual three-and-out for the Commanders' defense.

For his efforts all game which culminated in a stat line of four pressures, three hurries, a sack, an interception and a touchdown, Dan Quinn called Fowler "the guy that set it off today" and awarded him with the (real) game ball postgame in the locker room.

The Washington Commanders have begun warming up at Northwest Stadium for their Week 7 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, #ShotonSony. (Photos by Emilee Fails and Kourtney Carroll/Washington Commanders)

Frankie Luvu

It wouldn't surprise anybody if Luvu had this Week 7 matchup circled on his calendar. Regardless of how a player leaves, there is just a little more that comes with games against your former team.

That may or may not have been a factor in the coaching staff naming Luvu a captain for yesterday's game. And here's an important note: he's been playing out of his mind in the last couple of weeks.

The in-form linebacker had another dominant day in the burgundy and gold. Perhaps no play better captures that dominance than what Luvu did on third-and-5 not even a minute into the second quarter. The captain reacted quickly and pounced when the ball snapped, charging through the offensive lineman who had no answer for the hungry linebacker. Luvu wrangled Dalton to the ground for a loss of four yards, and the Panthers had to punt.

In addition to that sack, which was his fourth of the season, Luvu recorded two tackles for loss, and one quarterback hit. The linebacker's impact on games has mirrored Washington's defense as a whole this season.