The Panthers hit Nick Foles 9 times without a sack, but it was the D’s best game yet
As good as the Panthers’ defense was Sunday against the Bears — and it was pretty good — cornerback Rasul Douglas wasn’t satisfied.
While the Panthers limited the Bears to 261 yards of total offense, forced one turnover and stifled the running game, there was one stat Douglas didn’t see Sunday.
“We’re not winning, so we’re not playing good enough defense to win,” Douglas said. “We’re playing better, but we’re leaving a lot of plays on the grass. I know we wish we could have those plays back, including myself.
“It’s another level I think we can tap into, that we haven’t reached yet.”
The Panthers entered Sunday’s game with the fifth-ranked pass defense, allowing 223 yards passing per game. But it was the run defense that had been holding the Panthers back.
Against the Bears, the Panthers were much better, though. Chicago — far from the best rushing team in the NFL, finished with 63 yards rushing and a touchdown — a quarterback sneak. The Panthers limited the Bears to 2.5 yards per carry, and this is without two of their top defensive linemen in Kawann Short and Yetur Gross-Matos.
It was the first time the Panthers did not allow 100 yards rushing in a game this season, and a sign that the Panthers’ defense is getting better each game.
While the Panthers did not have a sack, they had 9 quarterback hits, including three from defensive end Brian Burns, who said he felt like the defense played a good game, with the exception of penalties.
“I feel like we did a great job,” Burns said. “We had a lot of energy. A lot of guys had that underdog mentality and I was loving it. We’ve just got to cut out the dumb mistakes.”
The Panthers had three defensive penalties Sunday — a roughing the passer call, defensive pass interference and illegal hands to the face. All of those plays extended drives.
But the Panthers also limited a lot of the offense’s mistakes, too.
When running Mike Davis fumbled on the first drive of the third quarter, the Panthers defense got the ball right back. Rookie linebacker Jeremy Chinn jumped high and intercepted a wobbly Nick Foles pass intended for Bears tight end Demetrius Harris.
Chinn said he recognized the play because the Bears had ran it previously and were successful with it.
“They ended up hitting the seven because I didn’t hinge good enough,” Chinn said. “So they came back and ran it again, I hinged and was able to make a play on it.”
It was because of the Panthers’ defense, that Carolina had a chance to win. After the Panthers cut the Bears lead to 23-16 with 7:51 left, the defense came up with a much-needed stop on the Bears’ next series.
The Panthers received possession at their own 17-yard line with more than 5 minutes remaining and an opportunity to tie it. But the Panthers’ next drive stalled at the Chicago 38-yard and they turned it over on downs.
Even after that mistake, the Panthers’ defense forced a three-and-out, giving the offense one last chance to tie it. But on the very first play of the final drive, Bridgewater threw an interception.
“We’ve got to just execute better,” Bridgewater said. “Then the defense gave us a chance at the end of the game with a stop and we turned the ball over.”
— Jonathan M. Alexander
Required Panthers reading
+ Analysis: Panthers never fixed the mistakes that hurt them win win streak. It cost them.
+ Fowler: The Panthers beat bad teams without Christian McCaffrey. Now they desperately need him.
+ Grading the Carolina Panthers in Week 6 loss to Chicago Bears
+ Beautiful day, brutal game: Thoughts on the mistake-prone Panthers losing to Bears
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 5:55 AM.
