Thumbs up, Thumbs down

A quick summary of what went right, what went wrong and what went off the rails during Carolina's 29-21 loss to Washington.

THUMBS UP: Carolina (5-7) didn't let last week's 34-31 loss at New Orleans linger. The Panthers came out strong, playing fast and loose on both sides of the ball en route to taking a 14-0 lead.

THUMBS DOWN: The Panthers couldn't maintain their game-opening momentum, allowing Washington (3-9) to roll out 29 unanswered points. 

THUMBS UP: His opportunities were limited, but kicker Joey Slye bounced back from last week's debacle. Slye missed two PATs and a 28-yard field goal against the Saints, but made all three of his point-after attempts on Sunday. 

THUMBS DOWN: Carolina's defense against the run continues to be its most glaring weakness. The Panthers allowed Washington to rush for 248 yards, including a 60-yard run by Derrius Guice as part of his 10-rush, 129-yard, two-touchdown game. Other notable rushing days by opponents this season: San Francisco, 232; LA Rams, 166; Green Bay, 163; Jacksonville, 149; Houston, 136.

THUMBS UP: Mario Addison had seven tackles and 1.5 sacks along with three quarterback hits. He now has a team high 9.5 sacks on the season.

THUMBS DOWN: Carolina let quarterback Kyle Allen get sacked seven times for minue-65 yards, with 5.5 sacks coming in the second half. Washington's Chris Odom got to Allen twice.

THUMBS UP: Curtis Samuel caught four of seven targets for 65 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown reception for the first score of the game. 

THUMBS DOWN: Neither team did well extending drives, combining to go 8 of 27 on third down. However, the Panthers did manage to convert one of its two tries on fourth down.

HE SAID IT: “I’m not worried about my future -- I’m worried about the future of this football team. And we have a game coming up on Sunday.”

— Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera.