Bears 16 – Panthers 13
There’s no rest for the weary. The Carolina Panthers had to turn around from a home beating from the Indianapolis Colts, this past Sunday, to a Thursday night showdown with the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Before this season began, many people thought this would be a match of (Panthers quarterback) Bryce Young vs. (Bears quarterback) Justin Fields. However, with Fields out, because of a thumb injury, it would be up to (Bears quarterback) Tyson Bagent to bring victory to the Windy City.
On the opening possession, the Bears started in a big way, as Bagent completed a 16-yard pass to (wide receiver) DJ Moore. After an incomplete pass, (running back) D’Onta Foreman ran for 2 yards. After another incomplete pass, the Bears punted. The Panthers started their first possession on the ground, as (running back) Chuba Hubbard ran for 3 yards.
After an incomplete pass, Young ran for 8 yards for a 1st down, but an additional 5 yards was added, because (Bears cornerback) Jaylen Johnson was called for illegal contact. Young completed a pass to (wide receiver) Adam Thielen, but the Panthers lost a yard. Young completed a 6-yard pass to Thielen, then ran for 8 yards to get another 1st down.
Hubbard ran for 3 yards to enter Bears territory. After Young threw 2 consecutive incomplete passes, the Panthers punted. Starting from Chicago’s 1-yard line, Bagent ran for 2 yards, then Foreman ran for 6 yards. Bagent completed a 6-yard pass to (wide receiver) Darnell Mooney for a 1st down. Foreman had runs of 4 yards, then 3 yards. After Bagent threw an incomplete pass, the Bears punted, again. Unfortunately for the Bears, (Panthers wide receiver) Ihmir Smith-Marsette returned the punt 79 yards for a touchdown against his former team. Another former Bears player, (kicker) Eddy Piñeiro made an extra point.
Bagent completed a 13-yard pass to Moore to start the next drive for the Bears. Foreman runs for 5 yards, then Bagent completes a 12-yard pass to Foreman for a 1st down. Now in Panthers territory, Foreman runs for 11 yards for another 1st down. After a 3-yard run from (running back) Darrynton Evans, Bagent threw 2 consecutive incomplete passes, causing the Bears to settle for a 54-yard field goal from (kicker) Cairo Santos.
On the next Panthers drive, (running back) Raheem Blackshear ran for 4 yards, then Young completed a 45-yard pass to (wide receiver) Michael Strachan. Once again in Bears territory, Young completed a 3-yard pass to Thielen. Hubbard ended the first quarter with a 9-yard run & a 1st down.
In the second quarter, Young completed a pass to (tight end) Tommy Tremble for no gain. After Hubbard lost a yard on a run, Young threw an incomplete pass. Piñeiro made a 33-yard field goal. On the next Bears possession, Foreman started the drive with a 3-yard run. Bagent completed a 6-yard pass to (tight end) Cole Kmet, then Foreman earned a 1st down with another 3-yard run. On the next play, (wide receiver) Tyler Scott ran for 16 yards.
Foreman ran, but it was for no gain. A 7-yard Bagent pass to (wide receiver) Equanimeous St. Brown was negated by a holding penalty. Bagent threw an incomplete pass, then a 4-yard pass to (running back) Roschon Johnson. A Bears punt nearly turned into a lucky break, as Smith-Marsette muffed the punt, but recovered the ball. After Young threw 2 incomplete passes, he was sacked by (defensive lineman) Justin Jones for a 6-yard loss.
After the first 3 and out of the game, the Panthers punted & (Bears wide receiver) Trent Taylor returned it 5 yards to Chicago’s 47-yard line. Foreman ran 2 yards, then Johnson ran 3 yard to enter Panthers territory. Bagent threw a 6-yard pass to Johnson for a 1st down. Bagent threw an incomplete pass, then a 6-yard pass to Kmet. After throwing another incomplete pass, Bagent completed a 15-yard pass to Scott on a 4th down play.
Moore ran for 1 yard to get the Bears in the red zone for the first time in the game. After a 2-yard run from Evans, an incomplete pass to Bagent led to Santos making his 2nd field goal of the game, with a 36-yard kick. On the kickoff, Blackshear returned it for 27 yards. Hubbard ran for 4 yards, then Young completed a 3-yard pass to (wide receiver) Jonathan Mingo to bring the game to the 2-minute warning. Young threw an incomplete pass, but an illegal contact call against (Bears cornerback) Kyler Gordon gave the Panthers a 1st down.
Hubbard ran for 2 yards, then Young completed a 7-yard pass to Mingo. After an incomplete pass, the Panthers punted. With time running out in the first half, the Bears tried to get some more points on the board. Bagent completed a 6-yard pass to Johnson, then (Panthers linebacker) Deion Jones was called for unnecessary roughness.
After completing a 6-yard pass to Moore, Bagent ran yards for another 1st down. Bagent completed a 14-yard pass to Moore, then a 4-yard pass to St. Brown. After throwing an incomplete pass, Bagent completed a 13-yard pass to Kmet for another 1st down. Bagent ran 5 yards, then Santos made his 3rd field goal of the game, as he made a 39-yard kick. The Panthers had a 10-9 lead, at halftime.
In the third quarter, Young started the opening possession with an incomplete pass. After (running back) Miles Sanders had a run of 1 yard, Young threw another incomplete pass to give the Panthers their 2nd 3 and out. After a punt, Foreman ran 2 yards, then Bagent completed a pass to Foreman for no gain. An incomplete pass from Bagent resulted in the first 3 and out for the Bears. After their punt, Sanders lost 6 yards on a run.
After Young completed a 6-yard pass to Blackshear, he was sacked by (Bears defensive lineman) Yannick Ngakoue. The Panthers went 3 and out for the 2nd time in the quarter & were forced to punt. However, the punt never left Panthers territory, as Taylor caught it at the 45 & returned it 7 yards. Bagent completed a 9-yard pass to Moore. Foreman ran for 3 yards to earn a 1st down. Bagent ran for 1 yard, then Foreman ran 11 yards to get a 1st down & enter the red zone.
Bagent completed a 6-yard pass to Kmet. Foreman ran for 3 yards, then Kmet ran for 1 yard to set up 1st & goal at Carolina’s 4-yard line. After Bagent threw an incomplete pass, Foreman scored a touchdown to give the Bears the lead for the first time in the game. After Foreman’s 4-yard run, Santos made the extra point. After throwing an incomplete pass, Young completed consecutive passes to (wide receivers) Terrace Marshall Jr. for 11 yards & Thielen for 14 yards to get to midfield.
After Young threw an incomplete pass, the Panthers were called for a false start. After another incomplete pass, Young completed a 10-yard pass to Mingo, but the Panthers were forced to punt. Foreman ran for 8 yards, then 4 yards for a 1st down. Bagent had a 2-yard run, then Foreman had a run that lost a yard. Bagent had a 16-yard pass to Taylor negated, because Moore was called for offensive pass interference. Johnson tried to run, but it was for no gain.
The Bears were forced to punt, but it only went 26 yards, meaning the Panthers started at Chicago’s 40-yard line. However, a Young run of 1 yard was negated by a holding call, which sent the Panthers back to midfield. A 6-yard pass to Hubbard was negated by Smith-Marsette committing offensive pass interference. Hubbard ran for 3 yards to end the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Young completed a 10-yard pass to Hubbard. Before a 3rd & 17 play, the Bears were called for a neutral zone infraction. Now with 3rd & 12, Young completed a 6-yard pass to Hubbard. Then, Young completed an 11-yard pass to Tremble to earn a 1st down. Blackshear ran for 3 yards, then Young completed a 2-yard pass.
After Young threw an incomplete pass, Piñeiro made his 2nd field goal, as he made a 39-yard kick. Johnson ran for 5 yards, then Bagent completed a 14-yard pass to Kmet for a 1st down. Johnson ran for 4 yards, then 6 yards for another 1st down. After Bagent threw an incomplete pass, Foreman ran for 4 yards. Bagent completed a pass to Johnson, but the play lost 2 yards & the Bears punted. Hubbard ran for no gain. Young completed a 9-yard pass to Thielen.
Hubbard ran for no gain, but Young ran for 2 yards & a 1st down. Young completed a 7-yard pass to (tight end) Hayden Hurst. After an incomplete pass, Young completed an 11-yard pass to Thielen. Young was sacked for the 3rd time in the game. This time, (defensive lineman) Rasheem Green did the honors. Young completed passes of 5 yards to Tremble & 7 yards to Hurst to get to the 2-minute warning. Young’s 13-yard pass to Sanders put them in Bears territory.
However, after 3 consecutive incomplete passes, Piñeiro missed an attempt to tie the game with a 59-yard field goal. Foreman ran for 4 yards, then lost a yard on the next run. Bagent completed an 8-yard pass to Mooney to get a 1st down & seal the game. After a false start, Bagent ran to the 50-yard line to kneel down & give the Bears a 16-13 victory
For the Panthers, Young completed 21 out of 38 passes for 185 yards and ran 3 times for 18 yards. Hubbard had 9 carries for 23 yards. Strachan had the 45-yard catch & Thielen had 6 catches for 42 yards. The defense had no sacks or interceptions. The Panthers will rest up, because they won’t have to play, until November 19th, when they host the Dallas Cowboys (who will host the New York Giants, tomorrow afternoon).
