Houston, Texas - The Carolina Panthers got a big road win down in Texas, beating the Houston Texans to remain of the few undefeated teams in the NFL.

The Panthers won 24-9 over the Texans seemingly easily, but also while losing one of their key offensive players in the process.

Quarterback Sam Darnold (24) led his team to a dominating victory, having success through the air and also on the ground, rushing for a career-high two touchdowns, in the absence of Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey.

Darnold finished the game going 23-for-34 passing for 304 yards to go along with his two rushing touchdowns.

In McCaffrey’s absence, backup running backs Chuba Hubbard carried the ball 11 times for 52 yards, while Tommy Tremble rushed for the Panthers’ only other touchdown in the game.

Apart from getting banged up in the game, the Panthers’ defense played very well, wearing down Houston’s offense in the first half to keep the game close, but low-scoring while Carolina’s offense tried to adjust to losing their best offensive player.

The Panthers led the Texans only 7-6 going into halftime, and Carolina’s defense also took a hit when their rookie cornerback Jaycee Horn had to exit the game with a broken foot in the third quarter.

While that injury was heavy, the Panthers already had the momentum by then, as the Texans just couldn’t get much going offensively, especially with a backup quarterback under center and an offense that couldn’t even gain 200 total yards overall.

Davis Mills was the starter for Houston this time, in his second career NFL game. In for the injured Tyrod Taylor, Mills went 19-for-28, 168 yards, and one touchdown despite four sacks against him.

Next Sunday, the Panthers (3-0) head down to Dallas to take on the Cowboys (1-1) while the Texans (1-2) play the Bills (1-1) in Buffalo.