Commanders Claim They Won't Overlook Lowly Panthers

The Washington Commanders have been a steady and even-keeled team through the first six weeks and have a 4-2 record to show for it.

After being humbled against the Baltimore Ravens in a 30-23 loss, the Commanders will face a different challenge against the lowly Carolina Panthers.

Not much was expected of Washington, going against an NFL heavyweight in Baltimore, but now facing a team with a 1-5 record, the Commanders are expected to handle their business.

And head coach Dan Quinn won't be reminding his team of the dangers of overlooking an opponent, because they are so focused on internal improvement.

“We don't, and the reason is so much of the focus is on us,” Quinn said . “Like weg ot plenty to work on and we are absolutely going to go sharpen our game as strong as we can knowing that will pay dividends moving forward. But no, we're absolutely going forward as hard as we can and we want to see those leaps and that progress take place and that's what we intend on doing for sure.”

Of course, that's easier said than done. While the Commanders remained locked into the task at hand, being back at home, facing a Panthers team that has an offense that struggles to score (just 17.2 points per game, ranks 28th), and a defense that is the worst in football (33.8 points per game), this seems straightforward.

But don't let this become a dogfight late in the fourth quarter.

We have already seen numerous times this season that if there is even a hint of complacency, teams can get hit between the eyes and never recover.

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So, while the Panthers, on paper, seem like no match for the Commanders, on the field, they must approach this contest with the same ferocity and vigor as they did against the Ravens and focus on what they do well.

Do that, and they win. But get ahead of themselves and get caught looking too far down the line, and that's when an upset can occur.