Darnold, defense lead Panthers past Texans; McCaffrey hurt
Sam Darnold threw for 304 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and the Carolina Panthers eased past the Houston Texans 24-9 despite losing Christian McCaffrey to an injury early in the second quarter
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sam Darnold threw for 304 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and the Carolina Panthers eased past the Houston Texans 24-9 on Thursday night despite losing Christian McCaffrey to an injury early in the second quarter.
The Panthers are 3-0 for the first time since 2015 when they opened the season 14-0 and reached the Super Bowl.
Carolina's top-ranked defense put the squeeze on Houston rookie Davis Mills in his first career start, sacking him four times and holding him to 168 yards passing. Mills was pressed into action after Tyrod Taylor suffered a hamstring injury last Sunday and was placed on injured reserve.
Darnold was efficient as he continues to revitalize his career with the Panthers after being cast aside by the New York Jets. But he could face some serious adversity if McCaffrey, who left with a hamstring injury in the second quarter, is forced to miss significant time.
McCaffrey came in leading the league in scrimmage yards, the same thing he did in the 2019 season. But he missed all but three games last year with various injuries as the Panthers sputtered to 5-11 in coach Matt Rhule's first year.
Darnold rushed for Carolina's first score in the first quarter and put the game away when he bulled in from 1-yard out for to make it 24-9 with about four minutes left, losing his helmet in the process.
Mills threw for a touchdown and avoided big mistakes after he threw an interception in the second half of Sunday's loss at Cleveland.
___
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL