CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The losses continue to pile on for the Carolina Panthers this season.
The Panthers lost their fourth straight game with a crushing 40-7 defeat to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. All six of the Panthers' losses this year have been by 10 or more points.
Carolina has allowed 243 points to opposing teams this season, tied for the second-most given up by a team through the first seven games since 1970.
A lack of scoring from Carolina's offense has not helped matters. The Panthers have a negative 133-point differential, over 50 points worse than the next-closest team. It's the 10th-worst point differential for a team since 1970 through seven games.
Carolina's offense found a rhythm in Week 3 when Andy Dalton was named the starting quarterback. He led them to the team's lone win this year and played decently for a few weeks before falling completely flat against Washington.
Dalton had just 93 yards passing and two interceptions in Sunday's loss, the eight-worst total in a start during his 14-year career. Last year's No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young entered the game late and completed 2 of 2 passes for negative four yards.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said after Sunday's game that the team is committed to Dalton even after Sunday's poor performance.
Dalton has averaged 198 yards passing per game in his five starts this year. He's thrown seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
Run defense has also been a problem for the Panthers. Carolina has allowed 1135 yards rushing through seven games, the worst mark in the league. The Panthers have allowed over 200 yards rushing to opponents in five straight games, including in Sunday's loss to Washington.
Canales did not go in-depth on the team's defensive struggles during his news conference after Sunday's loss. He said the team needs to focus on the fundamentals to get things going.
"I just want to see the great work we're doing [in practice] carry over to the game for four quarters," Canales said. "We gotta balance this thing out and play good football. The trajectory is to find good football. That's the greatest challenge."
One large contributing factor is surmounting injuries to Panthers defenders. Defensive end Derrick Brown, Carolina's only Pro Bowl player from last season, is out for the rest of the year with an injury. Linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Shaq Thompson, safety Sam Franklin Jr., and cornerback Anthony Brown are among the growing list of Panthers players who have missed extended periods with injuries this season.
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Note: Historical stats compiled using Stathead.