The opinions expressed in this article are from national reporters and do not reflect those of the team.

The Washington Commanders have dropped to 5-2 after their 40-7 win over the Carolina Panthers. Here's how the Commanders stack up with the rest of the league.

NFL.com

Rank: 7
Week 7 ranking: 8

**Eric Edholm:** The rib injury to Jayden Daniels was the only thing to mar Sunday's thrashing of the Panthers, but if the Commanders have to play without Daniels for any length of time, Marcus Mariota's performance in Daniels' place was reassuring. After starting the game 0-for-3, Mariota hit 15 of his next 16 pass attempts, including 11 straight at one point. Washington scored on six straight drives with Mariota at QB; that's impressive even against Carolina and even with a few red-zone opportunities missed.

Pro Football Talk

Rank: 7
Week 7 ranking: 7

**Mike Florio:** The Bears will be seeing a second overall pick on Sunday, but perhaps not the one they expected to see.

ESPN

Rank: 9
Week 7 ranking: 9

**John Keim:** Washington picked rookie Sainristil, who turned 24 earlier this month, in the second round as a nickel corner, and he became an immediate starter. He's listed at 5-foot-10, 182 pounds but plays bigger than his size. Because of issues at corner with Emmanuel Forbes Jr., the Commanders moved Sainristil outside -- acknowledging he's better inside, but they needed him elsewhere. Earlier this season, coach Dan Quinn called him a "rare competitor" and a leader -- not only for the other rookies but also for the other defensive backs.

Bleacher Report

Rank: 9
Week 7 ranking: 10

B/R Staff: It's rare for a team to drop a 40-burger on an opponent in a blowout win and leave its fanbase feeling queasy. But until Jayden Daniels is off the sideline and back under center, Commanders fans are going to be nervous about the young quarterback.

USA Today

Rank: 10
Week 7 ranking: 10

Nate Davis: Though it was certainly boosted by Sunday's rout of Carolina, you might be surprised to learn that Washington's +66 point differential paces the league. But that obviously won't be easy to maintain if rookie QB Jayden Daniels misses starts with his rib injury.

Sporting News

Rank: 9
Week 7 ranking: 9

Vinnie Iyer: The Commanders can breathe easy about Jayden Daniels and the injury to his ribs for two reasons: They still blew out the Panthers with Marcus Mariota, and they got their rookie QB some key rest before a big Bears matchup.

Yahoo Sports

Rank: 8
Week 7 ranking: 10

Frank Schwab: It's hard to have any takeaways from Sunday's win because it came against the Panthers, the NFL's version of the junior varsity. The main thing coming out of the game is the hope that Jayden Daniels isn't going to miss any games with a rib injury.

Sports Illustrated

Rank: 6
Week 7 ranking: 6

Connor Orr: Here's something neat: If you lower the bar to a 40-rep minimum, the two best quarterbacks in the NFL in terms of advanced statistics (a composite of Expected Points Added and Completion Percentage Over Expectation) are Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota. Mariota has the benefit of whipping the Carolina Panthers, of course, but the bottom line is that Kliff Kingsbury is cooking right now. Some inside the industry believe he could throttle himself right back into a head coaching seat after this year if the pace holds.