Andy Dalton threw a second interception in the first half of the eventual Carolina Panthers loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. It looked like some potential miscommunication on the part of wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Announcers speculated that he broke out of his route later than Dalton wanted, and the QB was visibly frustrated.
Panthers HC Dave Canales silent on Diontae Johnson, Andy Dalton conversation
After the usually even-keeled Dalton threw his helmet in frustration, he and his star wide receiver had a conversation on the sideline about what went wrong in the interception. Dalton seemed to want Johnson out of his break much sooner and delivered the ball in anticipation of that. Johnson wasn't there, and it was a clean interception.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales acknowledged that the two had a discussion over it, but he refused to divulge any details. The coach was asked whether or not Johnson had run a bad route, and he simply said that the parties involved had talked and left it at that.
Not a lot has gone right over the last couple of weeks for the Panthers, and that interception seemed to mark the end of their competitiveness on Sunday. Johnson has been a stellar addition to the team otherwise, but on Sunday he was held in check and may have been at least partly responsible for the turnover.
