CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Quarterback Sam Darnold, making his first start of the season under center, and the Carolina Panthers capitalized on an under-achieving Denver Broncos team at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. In a 23-10 victory, Darnold protected the football well and led the Panthers to a home win — Steve Wilks’ third in as many tries as interim head coach — in a stadium draped in orange.
Darnold completed 11 of 19 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown. His best throw came on the first play of the fourth quarter, when he dropped back after faking a handoff to D’Onta Foreman and delivered a 52-yard strike to a streaking DJ Moore down the right sideline. Moore had a step on cornerback Patrick Surtian II, but it still took a perfect Darnold throw to complete.
The highlight play set up kicker Eddy Piñeiro’s second field goal of the afternoon, a 26-yard chip shot that put the Panthers up 17 points with 13:33 to play.
