Action? Jackson scores twice on historic day

BEARS 17, PANTHERS 3

CHICAGO» Rookie safety Eddie Jackson turned a painful anniversary into a record-setting afternoon.

He scooped up a loose ball and corralled a tipped pass. And with two long touchdown returns, he made NFL history.

Jackson became the first player to score multiple defensive TDs of 75 yards or more in a game, leading the Chicago Bears to a 17-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Jackson’s big day came exactly one year after he broke his leg playing for Alabama against Texas A&M.

“I’d dealt with adversity before,” Jackson said. “That’s one thing that I can credit Alabama on. They help you fight through adversity. I’ve been through a lot of stuff in my life. That was just a little minor stepping stone. I came here — it’s a great organization, great training staff and great teammates so they did a great job keeping me up, keeping me going.”

Jackson ran back a fumble recovery 75 yards on the game’s opening possession and returned an interception of Cam Newton 76 yards for a score early in the second quarter to give Chicago a 14-0 lead.

He became the first Bears player since Fred Evans in 1948 — and the first NFL player since Tennessee’s Zach Brown in 2012 — with two defensive TDs in a game.

Chicago also sacked Newton five times and intercepted him twice.

The big plays by Jackson and the defense lifted the Bears (3-4) to their second straight win. Carolina fell to 4-3 despite dominating the statistics, including a 293-153 advantage in total yards.