Perhaps we weren’t expecting much from the Carolina Panthers nor the Chicago Bears in this frightful Week 10 prime-time showdown. But, man . . .
The Panthers picked up their eighth loss of the campaign in a miserable, frustrating and embarrassing 16-13 defeat. So, how did they get there and what happens next?
Here are our biggest takeaways from the night:
Offense continues to digress
With a new head coach, a first-year offensive coordinator and a rookie quarterback, the Panthers offense should’ve been given some rope to start the season. But now, just nine games in, it seems like there’s nothing left to hold on to.
Carolina, fresh off a three-pick performance from a few days ago, somehow took another step back. They didn’t turn the ball over, but came away with just 213 yards, three third-down conversions on 15 tries and zero offensive touchdowns against a not-so-great defense.
The switch on play-calling duties, first and foremost, doesn’t seem to have inspired much change. Under Thomas Brown, the uninspired group has reached the end zone just twice over three games.
Plus, Bryce Young still isn’t getting much from the supporting cast—as his pass catchers couldn’t create opportunities and dropped a few when they did while his offensive line crumbled throughout the night. While Young wasn’t exactly great, the failures of everything around him have been the much more concerning issue—and it doesn’t feel like they’re going to stop any time soon.
Defense continues to impress
For the third straight week, our hats go off to the defense.
As undermanned as they’ve been, the unit has continued to push through and give the Panthers their chances at victory. This time, they held Chicago to 4.9 yards per passing attempt and 3.6 yards per run while allowing just 16 points.
If we want to nitpick, their zero sacks and zero takeaways weren’t exactly phenomenal. But for a defense missing its best pass rusher, its best cornerback and its longtime veteran leader, they were pretty darn good.
We can see why defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero is probably going to be a head coach somewhere next season.
2023 reaches a new low
Carolina’s woeful offensive output was just one of a handful of reasons why their eighth loss of the campaign was, by far, their most embarrassing yet.
There’s the draft implications. The defeat improved the value of the Panthers’ 2024 first-round draft pick—one the Bears, of course, own.
And the reason why they own that pick took a big ‘L’ on the ol’ “QB Winz” front. The No. 1 overall pick of this year’s draft, who’s a Heisman winner out of the most illustrious college powerhouse in the sport, just watched his team lose to an undrafted kid out of Division II *checks notes* Shepherd University.
So, the good news is that it’s pretty hard to get any lower than this. But the bad news is that this Panthers team feels well-equipped to get there.
