LANDOVER, Md. — Quarterback Carson Wentz played well in his Washington debut, but two rookies stole the show in the Commanders’ 23-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Saturday in the preseason opener for both teams.
Wentz, with his third different NFL team in as many years, completed 10 of 13 passes for 74 yards and led a 14-play, 82-yard drive that culminated in an 8-yard touchdown run by rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr.
“It was good to get out here and not be booed and have some fun,” Wentz said. “It wasn’t perfect, but it was good to kind of get our feet wet a little bit offensively.”
Robinson, a third-round pick out of Alabama, ran for 26 yards and the TD on six carries and caught two passes for 15 yards.
Rookie Sam Howell, the third quarterback to enter the game for the Commanders, completed 9 of 16 passes for 143 yards and had touchdown runs of 1 and 17 yards.
Taylor Heinicke, a former Old Dominion star who was Washington’s starter last season, replaced Wentz with about nine minutes left in the second quarter and completed 4 of 9 passes for 21 yards with an interception. He also ran for 14 yards on two carries.
Meanwhile, the first exhibition game did not do much to drastically change the status of the Carolina Panthers’ quarterback competition. Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass and Baker Mayfield was solid aside from a fumbled snap.
Even if Mayfield appears to be the favorite after the Panthers traded for him and based on training camp, neither he nor Darnold separated himself in the race that might still take some more time to be decided before Week 1, Sept. 11 against Cleveland.
“Our mentality is best suited to just put our heads down and go to work,” Mayfield said. “Just trying to improve each day, and the best man’s going to win.”
Mayfield started and completed four of seven passes for 45 yards. He scurried for 3 yards on one play and botched the exchange with center Pat Elflein just inside the red zone, contributing to the first drive stalling and ending with a field goal.
Darnold took over with Carolina in the red zone after a fumble by Washington’s Antonio Gibson and completed a play-action fade pass under pressure to Rashard Higgins for an 8-yard TD. Darnold went back out for a second drive, threw incomplete on third down and finished 2 of 3 for 16 yards.
“They were both in command,” coach Matt Rhule said. “Sam got us in the end zone, Baker led us down the field, so it looked like both guys played well in terms of production. We’ll go back and look and see where they are.”
QBs of the future?
The Commanders and Panthers each had a rookie quarterback who could be part of the future get some second-half snaps. Washington’s Howell impressed more than Carolina’s Matt Corral.
Howell, once a projected top-10 pick who fell to the fifth round after his junior season at North Carolina, juked out a few defenders on a 17-yard touchdown run. It was his first of two rushing TDs before a two-point-conversion that put Washington up with 2:26 left.
Corral, a third-rounder out of Mississippi, entered in the fourth quarter and was 1 of 9 for 11 yards, but also led the drive that ended with Zane Gonzalez’s 45-yard go-ahead field goal in the final minute.
Gibson’s fumbling issues continue
Gibson fumbled on his second carry of the game, continuing a troubling trend that worsened last season. He fumbled six times and lost the ball four of those times in 2021, his second NFL season, and his struggles to stay fully healthy led Washington to look for a running back high in the draft.
Robinson impressed in relief of Gibson.
“I thought Brian kind of showed why we drafted him,” coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s got that downhill physical presence on the inside.”
Up next
The Commanders will visit the Kansas Chiefs next Saturday in a reunion between Ron Rivera and mentor Andy Reid.
