FIVE & SURVIVE
It might not be pretty, but 5-1 Bears are off to best start since 2012
BEARS 23, PANTHERS 16
Defense once again carries inconsistent offense as Bears sharpen postseason focus
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Bears’ running game got better Sunday, as long as everyone is comfortable measuring progress in fractions. The team and the coach that love talking about running the ball more than actually doing it managed just 2.5 yards per carry in the 23-16 victory over the Panthers.
Technically, it was 2.52 yards, which was up from a flat 2.5 the week before against the Buccaneers and — get ready for this — almost a yard of improvement from the 1.8 yards they averaged in the loss to the Colts two games ago.
At the end of the game, when the Bears needed to run most so they could drain the clock and avoid another scary finish, they either could not or did not. After running back David Montgomery managed a yard on second-andthree with 1:49 left, coach Matt Nagy called a pass play that went incomplete as Nick Foles overthrew Allen Robinson.
That gave the Panthers the ball back with 1:32 remaining and an opportunity to tie or win the game.
“If you get that first down right there, it’s game over,” Nagy said in defense of his third- down pass, a decision he already had made in his mind before the first play of the possession. “You can run the ball and possibly get it and you make them burn a timeout, but that’s not an aggressive approach.
“We felt really good, all of us, with the decision to do that. It’s one of those ones that if you get it, it’s a great call and it’s game over. And if you don’t, it stinks and you give the ball back to them. We’ve got to finish the end of those games.”
Montgomery had 58 yards on 19 carries, Cordarrelle Patterson ran once for a yard and Foles tacked on five rushes for four yards, including a QB sneak for a touchdown.
Jackson’s frustration
Bears star safety Eddie Jackson’s day included a forced fumble for a takeaway, getting knocked out of the game briefly by an injury (he was fine) and having a pick-six wiped out by penalty for the second time this season.
The highlight of his day would’ve been a pass break-up by cornerback Kyle Fuller that deflected to Jackson at the Panthers’ 17-yard line early in the third quarter. He darted through the Panthers to the end zone, but Fuller was flagged for pass interference for hitting wide receiver Robby Anderson before the ball arrived.
Jackson chimed in later on Twitter that having his touchdown called back “makes no sense.”
He was not alone venting his frustration with the officials on Twitter. Linebacker Danny Trevathan added, “We need to start fining refs. This is ludicrous.”
Suspense at left guard
After all of Nagy’s gamesmanship over who would start at left guard now that James Daniels is out for the season with a pectoral injury, he made the most obvious move and went with Rashaad Coward.
Coward started 10 games at right guard after Kyle Long went on injured reserve last season and was the likely choice over upstart Alex Bars. Bars came in for Daniels against the Buccaneers but struggled in that game.