PHOTO | TROY HULL

Carolina Panthers receiver D.J. Moore caught four passes for 103 yards, including this 5-yard touchdown strike from Sam Darnold in their 23-10 win Sunday against Denver at Bank of America Stadium.

Considering how his 2021 went — and how this season has gone for the Panthers – it’s fitting that Sam Darnold’s first start of 2022 came against the NFL’s No. 3 defense.

The league is all about “any given Sunday,” and Darnold’s preparedness led the offense on a successful day in a 23-10 win over the Broncos. That performance also earned him the starting role against the Seahawks, interim head coach Steve Wilks announced in his post-game press conference.

“I thought he did a good job today,” said Wilks, who improved to 3-4 with the Panthers. “I still have to evaluate the tape but again, managed the game, ran the offense efficiently, connected down the field at times. We moved the pocket. Did a great job getting outside. We tried to establish that early on, so on the surface, pretty good.”

Before Sunday, the 2018 third overall pick last played in the Panthers’ preseason finale back in August, where he suffered a high ankle sprain and was placed on injured reserve until Week 7.

With Baker Mayfield going down with injury and eventually losing his starting role to P.J. Walker, Darnold sat some more, backing up Walker and then Mayfield again until he was named the starter in preparation for Denver.

Darnold said waiting almost three months to play again was frustrating and noted how there was “nothing better” than taking the field and winning with his teammates on Sundays.

In his regular season debut, Darnold looked ready for action, playing comfortably in a balanced offense that saw receiver D.J. Moore and running back D’Onta Foreman record over 100 yards each.

“I think it took a couple of plays for me to finally feel comfortable out there,” Darnold said. “Once I got my feet wet a little bit out there and threw my first completion, I feel like it was smooth sailing, especially with the way that we were running the football.”

The Panthers’ third starting quarterback even took some shots down field as he found Moore three times for 20 yards or more, including a 52-yarder down the sideline that hit the receiver in stride.

Moore and Darnold talked about that play before it happened, which Wilks pointed out as one of Darnold’s most impressive throws of the afternoon.

“We had kind of dialed that play up at halftime, with all the run action and runs that we had showed,” Darnold said. “We had plays dialed up even before then, but I was just talking to him about his angle, where he wanted to take it based on the safety leverage and how Pat Surtain was playing him.”

Arguably the most important part of Darnold’s performance was him not turning the ball over. Throughout his career, Darnold has been prone to throwing the ball away, recording a total touchdown to interception ratio of 54-52 before Sunday. Against the Broncos, Darnold threw for one score and zero picks, and recovered his own fumble and rolled into the end zone for the Panthers’ only other touchdown.

He completed 11-of-19 passes for 164 yards.

The offense’s success wasn’t all just Darnold, though, as the line also played exceptionally well in protecting the quarterback and creating running lanes. The line didn’t give up a single sack for the first time since the abysmal loss to Cincinnati in Week 9. They also paved the way for a productive day running the ball by Foreman and Chuba Hubbard. Foreman rushed for 113 yards on 24 carries, and Hubbard had a couple of explosive runs himself with 65 yards on 17 attempts.

“I love being able to do everything I can to help (Darnold) play the best he can be,” right tackle Taylor Moton said. “Everyone needs to do their jobs so we can all be the best versions of ourselves.”

Running successfully opens opportunities through the air as defenses try to balance loading the box and keeping enough bodies in coverage to stop the passing attack. Darnold feels like that aspect of the offense is integral to the Panthers’ identity.

“No doubt, our offensive line is rolling right now,” he said. “Those guys are tough and there's not a whole lot of defenses that want to go out against those guys right now. Not only our offensive line, but our running backs, our tight ends, the way they are blocking, our receivers, the way they are blocking. I mean our whole run game is setting up for the pass game. I feel like we've really figured out our identity so far this year. We just have to keep going.”

Carolina has a week off to rest, recover from injuries, and prepare for a significant road test against a 6-5 Seattle team that has surprised many this season. Wilks said he wants his team to build on Sunday by accomplishing two goals in the next outing; succeed on the road and win two games in a row — neither of which the Panthers have done this year.

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