Panthers vs. Redskins: Score and Twitter Reaction for Monday Night Football

Washington must have missed the memo that it controlled its destiny in the NFC playoff race.

The Carolina Panthers never trailed in a 26-15 victory Monday at FedEx Field, but the story was Washington's failure to take advantage of its opportunity. It dropped to 7-6-1 and behind the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the final wild-card spot. Those teams are each 8-6, but the Packers own the tiebreaker based on strength of victory.

Carolina improved to 6-8 and staved off its essentially inevitable elimination for at least another week.

Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus described the improbable path to the postseason the Panthers would have to take:

The backfield combination of Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart proved unstoppable Monday. Newton threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns against a secondary spearheaded by former Panther Josh Norman, while Stewart tallied 132 yards on the ground. Greg Olsen finished with a team-high 85 receiving yards, and Ted Ginn Jr. and Mike Tolbert each caught touchdown tosses.

Carolina had some fun with Stewart's dominant performance:

On the other side, Cousins threw for 315 yards with an interception, but the lack of a running game proved costly for Washington. Cousins led the team with 11 yards on the ground, while Robert Kelley managed a mere eight yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

DeSean Jackson was impressive with 111 receiving yards, but Washington could have used more support from tight end Jordan Reed. He appeared to be playing through an injury and recorded just one catch for six yards before he was ejected in the second half for throwing a punch at Kurt Coleman.

Cousins can at least take solace in the fact he set a franchise record during the game, per Washington:

The Carolina defense played well even though it was without linebacker Luke Kuechly and defensive lineman Charles Johnson. Bryan Strickland of the Panthers' website reported Kuechly was inactive even though he had cleared concussion protocol Saturday, and Johnson has a hamstring injury.

Carolina had little issue moving the ball early with back-to-back completions to Olsen (31 yards) and Ginn (18 yards) before it settled for Graham Gano's 35-yard field goal.

Washington tied the game with Dustin Hopkins' 43-yard field goal three possessions later, but it fell behind again when Newton found a wide-open Ginn for a 30-yard score on the ensuing drive. The NFL shared video of the touchdown, while Mike Jones of the Washington Post described the costly breakdown by the Washington secondary:

Former Ohio State Buckeyes continued to burn Washington when Coleman intercepted Cousins three plays later and set up a field goal by returning the ball to Washington's 24-yard line.

Carolina moved into field-goal range again when Stewart hurdled a defender during an 11-yard run, but Newton was flagged for taunting three plays later. Trent Murphy hit Newton in the head during a slide, and the sixth-year pro threw the ball down, drawing a questionable penalty that moved the Panthers out of Gano's range and reactions from Mike Wilbon of ESPN and Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports:

"

lol the NFL in a nutshell: Helmet to helmet contact, not a penalty. Throwing a ball at a player, penalty.

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) December 20, 2016"

On Tuesday morning, ESPN's Ed Werder noted a source from the NFL office said Newton lost his quarterback protection during the play when he became a runner, and the slide didn't occur before contact was imminent. 

Washington took advantage with a seven-play, 89-yard touchdown drive that Kelley capped with a five-yard run, though Hopkins missed the extra point to keep Carolina's lead at 13-9 with 3:43 to go before halftime.

It took the Panthers all of one play in the second half to regain momentum. Wes Horton shoved Vernon Davis into Cousins, which caused a fumble that Horton recovered and returned inside the 1-yard line.

Two plays later, Newton found Tolbert for a touchdown to re-open a two-score lead.

John Keim of ESPN.com pointed to a pressing concern for Washington:

After three punts, Carolina extended its lead to 23-9 with a 23-yard field goal by Gano, though Washington remained within striking distance by preventing a touchdown in the red zone.

It appeared as if the hosts would cut the deficit to one score when they picked up the tempo and moved inside the red zone on the ensuing possession, but Reed committed a drive-killing penalty with his punch. The tight end cost his team 15 yards and was ejected after his surprising loss of composure, per Brian McNally of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.:

Washington settled for a 26-yard field goal, and the Panthers missed a chance to essentially end the game when Ginn dropped a deep ball without a defender near him. The miscue gave Washington another chance, but it failed to move past its own 20-yard line and punted again.

Carolina then worked the clock, but Gano missed a 38-yard field goal with 5:37 remaining to keep the door slightly ajar. Washington pulled within eight points on Hopkins' 34-yard field goal, but not before attention temporarily turned to a cheerleader who took a big hit when Cousins was shoved out of bounds, via NFL on ESPN:

It was clear the Panthers would then run the ball to try to run out the clock, but that didn't stop Stewart from picking up 34 yards against the hapless Washington defense. Tolbert later rumbled into field-goal range with a 10-yard run, and Brian Mitchell of Comcast SportsNet couldn't believe Washington failed to stop the run in that situation:

Gano's 41-yard field goal all but ended the game, and Jamison Crowder lost a fumble for good measure on Washington's last drive.

Postgame Reaction

Of his team's playoff chances, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said, per Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer, "It's minuscule. But we will take it."

Newton said he has to maintain his composure and avoid retaliating, per David Newton of ESPN.com: "I know I am better than that."

Coleman discussed Reed's punch, per Rodrigue: "I don't cuss, so he might've said something after. I don't know. Set his team back 50 yards. Not a smart play."

Per Keim, Washington head coach Jay Gruden said, "We were outcoached today. They played better than us. ... It's my responsibility to get them ready to play."

Norman nearly had an interception and said Newton stopped throwing his way, per Joe Person of the Observer: "After that I didn't see no more of him all night. I think [offensive coordinator Mike] Shula got in his ear"

Defensive lineman Chris Baker said, "There's no way we should've lost to this team," per Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post.

What's Next?

Washington faces the 3-11 Chicago Bears on the road and 10-4 New York Giants at home to finish the season. The game may not mean much for the Giants if their playoff spot is already secured, so they could rest their starters and give Washington a chance to win with relative ease.

Still, it would need help to climb back into the playoffs.

The Panthers will play out the string against the 9-5 Atlanta Falcons at home and the Buccaneers on the road, as they attempt to spoil the seasons of their division rivals, who are fighting for the NFC South crown and a wild-card spot.