Eddy Piñeiro’s 39-yard field goal narrowed the score to 16-13 at the start of the fourth quarter, but his potential game-tying 59-yard attempt fell significantly short with 1:35 remaining.
Following the win, the Bears boosted their record to 3-7 and have gone 3-3 since their rough 0-4 start.
“I really believe that we played some great complementary football,” stated coach Matt Eberflus. “The defense did a fantastic job of creating short fields for our offense throughout the day, which was beneficial. We took advantage of some opportunities and both defenses performed well. Overall, I think we handled it well and put ourselves in a position to secure the victory,” he added.
After committing five turnovers in the previous game against the Saints, the Bears offense delivered a clean performance with no turnovers and no sacks allowed. Quarterback Tyson Bagent, filling in for the injured Justin Fields, completed 20 of 33 passes for 162 yards and a 73.0 passer rating.
“He’s consistently done a great job of avoiding sacks in the four games he’s played,” commended Eberflus. “Today, what he did well was not putting the ball in jeopardy, giving us a chance to win,” he emphasized.
Former Panthers played a key role in fueling the Bears offense, with Foreman rushing for 80 yards on 21 carries and DJ Moore catching five passes for a game-high 58 yards.
The Bears’ defensive line consistently pressured quarterback Bryce Young, with tackle Justin Jones and ends Yannick Ngakoue and Rasheem Green registering sacks. End Montez Sweat recorded three quarterback hits.
The Panthers initially took a 7-0 lead on Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s 79-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter. Smith-Marsette, a former Bears player, broke three tackles for his first career return TD.
The Bears then cut the deficit to 7-3 on Cairo Santos’ 54-yard field goal, following a nullified 49-yarder due to a false start penalty on Cody Whitehair.
Carolina extended its lead to 10-3 on Pineiro’s 33-yard field goal in the second period, set up by Young’s 45-yard completion to receiver Mike Strachan to the Chicago 26.
Santos responded with two more field goals, a 36-yarder with 3:06 left in the second quarter, and a 39-yarder as time expired, bringing the Bears to within 10-9. Bagent engineered a 9-play, 70-yard drive in just 1:12 before the second field goal.
“I’m certainly proud of the way the guys handled the end of the half,” Eberflus expressed. “They really did a good job in the two-minute drill, and Bagent performed really well,” he concluded.
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