It's probably difficult for Washington Commanders fans to describe how they feel right now.

Washington, who returned to Northwest Stadium after suffering a Week 6 loss against the Baltimore Ravens to take on the Carolina Panthers and retire Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green's jersey number, rolled the struggling NFC South opponent on both sides of the ball. They were up 34-0 six minutes into the third quarter, and the defense, which was tied for the fewest forced interceptions in the league, got two on the day, one of which was returned for a touchdown, as part of an overall smothering performance.

As exciting as it is for the Burgundy & Gold faithful, most of their attention was focused on quarterback Jayden Daniels, who left the 40-7 victory in the first quarter with a rib injury.

It is unclear on exactly which play Daniels sustained his injury, but it occurred on the opening drive for the Commanders' offense. Daniels opened the day with a 46-yard run and got Washington down to the Panthers' 5-yard line, but it was clear that he was experiencing some discomfort. The drive ended with a field goal, and Daniels went into the blue medical tent after talking to the medical staff.

Daniels tried warming up for the Commanders' next offensive possession but was still experiencing some discomfort. He went to the locker room and was ruled out at the start of the second half. He returned to the sideline in street clothes and waved to the crowd, apparently in good spirits.

Coach Dan Quinn did not have an update on Daniels' status after the game but did acknowledge the quarterback would go through more testing on Monday.

The biggest consolation is that the team did not miss a beat without their starting quarterback. Backup Marcus Mariota led the Commanders to five scores on his first six drives and put up 421 yards on 63 plays. Brian Robinson Jr. returned to action and ran hard, collecting 71 yards and a score on 12 carries.

On defense, Washington put together its best performance of the season, holding the Panthers' offense without a point until the fourth quarter. They looked their best during their opening drive, but even that ended in dismay, as Dante Fowler Jr. picked off Andy Dalton's third-down pass and returned it 67 yards for third career touchdown.

The Panthers found little success following that drive. Dalton threw his second interception on the Panthers' third drive, this time coming from the hands of Emmanuel Forbes Jr. Thanks to efforts from players like Mike Sainristil, who had XX stops on the day, the Panthers didn't gain more than 17 yards on a drive until the start of the fourth quarter. They tried to give themselves a spark by trying to convert a fourth-and-1, but Fowler busted through the line of scrimmage to take down Chuba Hubbard for a two-yard loss.

Washington's offense, meanwhile, took some time to get rolling but ended up being difficult to stop. A pass from Mariota to Noah Brown drew a pass interference penalty at the Panthers' 15-yard line. Robinson ran it in two plays later to put Washington up 17-0.

Mariota and the Commanders put up 10 more points before the end of the first half. The defense forced another punt from the Panthers, and Washington went on a 92-yard drive that saw Mariota complete five of six passes, including a 12-yard touchdown to Zach Ertz to go up 27-0.

The Commanders squashed any remaining doubt with another touchdown drive to open the third quarter. A seven-yard completion by Olamide Zaccheaus converted a third-and-5 at the Panthers' 13-yard line. Rookie Ben Sinnott then capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown.

Hubbard got the Panthers on the board with a four-yard touchdown, but with the Commanders still up four scores, all Mariota and the offense needed was another field goal to close things out.