Take Back the Capital

Steve Smith, Jordan Gross, and the Carolina Panthers traveled to the nation's capital in week 9 and came away triumphant. The Washington Redskins billed it as a Homecoming game, with past greats invited and past horrid uniforms unveiled. Some of the Panthers took exception to a professional football game being called Homecoming, so they went out and played like professionals.

As always, it starts in the trenches, where Gross and the offensive line held their ground. They did not allow a sack and the Panthers rushed for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. Carolina converted on nearly half of their third downs (5-11) and put up 330 total yards on offense. Cam Newton had better protection than Robert Griffin III, and that was crucial. It allowed him to find Steve Smith, who found the end zone for the first time this season. Smith had 3 catches for 41 yards and a score. He also laid out a defender with a nice downfield block on Armanti Edward's 82 yard catch-and-run. Smith put the player down like he put down the trade rumors earlier in the week - he's playing his whole career in Carolina. It was a much-needed team victory, so Gross and Smith are the ProUtes of the Week.