LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Dwayne Haskins turned the ball over three times before getting benched, Steven Sims muffed a punt return that turned into a Panthers touchdown and Washington blew its first chance to clinch the NFC East by losing to Carolina 20-13 Sunday.

Haskins was 14 of 28 with a fumble and two interceptions after starting in place of injured veteran Alex Smith, despite violating COVID-19 protocols last week. After being stripped of his captaincy and fined $40,000 for partying without a mask, he was stripped of the ball by Marquis Haynes in the first quarter and picked off by Tahir Whitehead and Tre Boston in the second.

Meanwhile, Washington’s defense allowed two Panthers touchdown drives and 202 yards in the first half alone. Had there been fans at FedEx Field, they would have booed Washington off the field at halftime.

Down 14 early in the fourth quarter, coach Ron Rivera pulled Haskins and handed the ball to Taylor Heinicke for his first NFL action since 2018 with Carolina. Heinicke was 12 of 19 for 137 yards in relief and threw a 29-yard TD pass to J.D. McKissic with 1:50 left.

With Rivera looking to get into the playoffs by beating his former team, the scene was instead eerily reminiscent of four years ago when Jay Gruden-coached Washington lost a potential win-and-in Week 17 matchup against the Giants, who like Carolina had nothing to play for.

New York’s loss earlier Sunday at Baltimore put the NFC East squarely in focus for Washington (6-9), which now must beat Jalen Hurts and the Eagles next week to wrap up the NFL’s weakest division.

Carolina (5-10) snapped a three-game skid behind 197 yards passing from Teddy Bridgewater and an opportunistic performance on defense and special teams. With Christian McCaffrey out again, Curtis Samuel had five catches for 106 yards and was the Panthers’ leading rusher with 52 yards on seven carries.

TEDDY TIME

Keenly aware the Panthers have eight losses this season with a chance to tie or take the lead late in the fourth quarter, Bridgewater made sure they weren’t in that spot this time. Bridgewater completed 12 of 18 passes in the first half, throwing a 14-yard TD pass to Robby Anderson and leading another scoring drive.

CAPTAIN CHASE

Rookie Chase Young was Washington’s best player in his first game since replacing Haskins as a captain. The No. 2 pick forced Bridgewater to fumble on a sack in Washington territory early in the third quarter to prevent Carolina from putting up even more points. The offense scored on the ensuing drive.

Young, 21, was already the youngest player in franchise history to be picked for the Pro Bowl.

RIVERA STRONG

Carolina players and coaches wore “Rivera Strong” sweatshirts during pregame warmups to pay tribute to the team’s former coach, who underwent treatment for a form of skin cancer earlier this season. Rivera coached the Panthers for almost a decade, a stint that included a 15-1 season with a trip to the Super Bowl five years ago.

INJURIES

Panthers: LT Trent Scott left early in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return. Scott was already filling in for injured starter Russell Okung, who was inactive.

Washington: S Kamren Curl missed a few plays in the third quarter while getting medical attention. … Played without top WR Terry McLaurin, who couldn’t keep gutting through a nagging ankle injury.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Host NFC South champion New Orleans next Sunday.

Washington: Gets another chance to win the NFC East next Sunday at Philadelphia.

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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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