No facemask? No problem for Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart, who hasn’t given up the fight

Anyone questioning what the Carolina Panthers’ effort level would look like with them needing nothing less than a Christmas miracle to make the playoffs, type “Jonathan Stewart facemask” into your search engine and buckle up.

During the second quarter of the Panthers’ 26-15 victory at Washington on Monday, Stewart banged off a couple of defenders for an 8-yard gain. The force of one of the hits ripped Stewart’s facemask from his helmet, making him look like one of those brutes from the leather-helmet days.

That was Exhibit A of Stewart’s bull-in-the-china-shop bruising of the Washington defense.

There were more to come, including a change-of-direction run in which he vaulted over former teammate Josh Norman and fought through five tacklers before going down after an 11-yard gain.

Stewart’s then threw in a third-quarter stiff arm of cornerback Greg Toler, who had the misfortune of getting posterized by Stewart and picking up a 15-yard facemask penalty.

When the equipment and body parts were done flying, Stewart had overcome a shot to the shin to run for 132 yards on 25 carries. It was the fifth-highest rushing total of Stewart’s 9-year career, and served notice that these Panthers (6-8) will not go quietly into their first playoff-less January in four years.

“We know the season didn’t go the way we wanted it to. We’ve got two games left. Our mindset every game is to come out here and win games,” Stewart said. “(Monday) that’s what we did. That’s all we can do – just do our job and make sure we end the season right.”

A big OL assist

Stewart did his part against Washington, with a big assist from the offensive line.

That group has been a mash-up all season of guys forced into new positions because of injuries. But Monday was the third game in a row with the current configuration, and things are starting to click.

“Their physicality, their energy level was very high,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “It helped with the running game. It was very good.”

Stewart agreed, giving a shout-out to a group that still features only one player – left guard Andrew Norwell – playing at his Week 1 spot.

“The offensive line had a great game,” Stewart said. “They try their best every game. We’ve had some ups and downs this year as far as guys going down, injuries, guys having to learn the position. A lot of that ties into things. Their chemistry showed (Monday night).”

Stewart, 29, has dealt with his own injuries. He missed three games early in the season with a hamstring issue and had not broken the 100-yard mark in a game before going to Washington.

At different points during his ground-and-pound first half, Stewart ended up with a broken facemask and a bruised shin, both of which required attention.

Quarterback Cam Newton credited the team’s training staff for an “unbelievable job” of putting Stewart back together again at halftime.

“For him to perform like that, that’s the type of player we’re going to need from him moving forward,” Newton said. “He’s a professional and that type of run game sets the tone.”

The clincher

Stewart both set the tone and sealed the game.

After a Dustin Hopkins field goal pulled Washington within one score at 23-15 with about four minutes left, the Panthers took over at their 20 needing a couple of first downs to salt away the win.

On the first play of the drive, Stewart broke through the right side for a 34-yard run that was his second-longest this season. Several plays later, Graham Gano made his fourth field goal in five tries, denting Washington’s playoff hopes.

Stewart said it was rewarding to impose his will on Washington’s defense.

“Once you feel the opponents getting weaker and weaker as the game goes on and you can feel the offensive line really getting after it with physicality at the line of scrimmage, you definitely feel it and you know (the defenders) feel it,” Stewart said.

“It feels great when I’m wearing the defense down.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2016 at 4:11 PM with the headline "No facemask? No problem for Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart, who hasn’t given up the fight."