LANDOVER, Md. – – Marcus Mariota replaced injured rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels early in the second quarter, Dante Fowler returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown and the Washington Commanders defeated the Carolina Panthers 40-7 on Sunday.

Concerns about Daniels’ status overshadowed the win after the No. 2 pick and offensive rookie of the year favorite left with a rib injury. His mother posted on social media that “he’s doing well,” and given the lopsided score, it would have been more surprising if Daniels returned, and the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner spent the second half on the bench talking and laughing with teammates.

The Commanders (5-2) did fine without him for the vast majority of the game after he went on a 46-yard run and completed a pair of passes on their opening possession. They were already leading at that point thanks to Fowler’s pick-6, Andy Dalton’s first of two interceptions, the second by Emmanuel Forbes, who returned from a healthy scratch last week.

The defense dominated, allowing 180 yards, stopping seven of 10 third-down chances and sacking Dalton twice.

With Mariota running the show, Washington chugged along, racking up 421 yards against the Panthers (1-6), who allowed the most points of any team in the Super Bowl era through the first six games of a season. Mariota was 18 of 23 for 205 yards on TD passes to tight ends Zach Ertz and Ben Sinnott.

Brian Robinson Jr. also ran for a touchdown in his return from a knee injury that forced him to miss last week’s game in Baltimore — his team’s first loss since the opener. The 27-point halftime lead was the largest since beating Dallas 28-0 on December 18, 2005.

Carolina’s losing season lasted five games in Dalton, replacing 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young as the starting QB. Dalton finished 11 of 16 for 93 yards, and Young went on mop-up duty with 4:55 left, completing two passes for negative yardage.

Chuba Hubbard was limited to 52 yards on 17 carries after averaging over 100 over the past four weeks. He ran for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, long after the outcome had been decided and fans who had been doing the wave earlier left to beat the traffic.