The Carolina Panthers dominated the Houston Texans on Thursday night football, winning the game 24-9. Carolina is a young team right now, but they've looked stellar to start the 2021 season. The defense shut down the Texans and the offense looked fluid throughout the game. It's time to continue our NFL takeaway series with a Panthers Week 3 takeaway.

Everyone was excited to see Christian McCaffrey on the NFL's center stage. However, he fell to injury early in the game and was ruled out almost immediately. On the same night, the Panthers lost rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn to injury as well. We'll see how Carolina bounces back from this, as they lost two top players on the roster in this contest.

The passing game was on full display on Thursday night. DJ Moore was targeted early and often and had himself a busy evening. Additionally, Sam Darnold looked comfortable in the pocket, for the most part. With that said, here are our Panthers' Week 3 takeaways after defeating the Texans.

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Panthers Week 3 Takeaways

3. Christian McCaffrey and Jaycee Horn fall to injury

Christian McCaffrey looked fantastic to start the game. He garnered seven carries for 31 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The star running back also had two receptions for nine yards on the night. It was cut short by a hamstring injury he suffered on a two-yard run. It's already been announced he'll miss some time, which is terrible news for the Panthers.

Simultaneously, the rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn suffered a broken foot in this game as well. It's currently unknown how long he'll be out for, but he's going to miss multiple weeks. The Panthers won the game, but it cost them two of their star players in the process.

2. DJ Moore deserves more recognition

On the bright side, DJ Moore looked like an elite wide receiver on Thursday night. Sam Darnold targeted him frequently, allowing Moore to reel in eight receptions for 126 yards. He didn't find the end zone, but DJ Moore put himself on the map, performing in a primetime football game against the Texans.

With Christian McCaffrey out with an injury, we could see Moore get even more involved in the Panthers' game plan. He's an electric receiver and proved to be the best athlete on the field on Thursday. We should see him have multiple big games like this throughout the rest of the year, as he's clearly Sam Darnold's favorite target.

1. Sam Darnold looks more confident with the Panthers

After struggling under Adam Gase on the New York Jets, Sam Darnold has looked comfortable and confident on his new team. Matt Rhule has created a solid offensive game plan that allows Darnold to play fluidly. So far, he's proving to be just another example of a player who performs well after escaping the grasp of Adam Gase's coaching.

As of now, there's no reason to believe that Darnold won't continue this little hot streak. He's looked much more confident than ever, giving the Panthers the quarterback play they need to be competitive. He did fumble twice on Thursday, which is something he'll need to improve on. Even so, Sam Darnold is shaping up to be the franchise quarterback the league has always believed he could be.