The Panthers lost their Thursday night matchup with the Bears, 16–13, which was as much of a slog as that final score indicates. The result came down to a game-tying 59-yard field goal attempt by Carolina’s Eddy Piñeiro, which fell short.
Coach Frank Reich may have felt that there wasn’t a better choice facing fourth-and-10 from the Chicago 41-yard line. Carolina only generated 213 yards of total offense and its touchdown came on a punt return by Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Quarterback Bryce Young had only thrown for 185 yards.
So was there a better chance of getting 10 yards on fourth down or Piñeiro kicking a career-long field goal (his previous best was a 56-yarder) in cold, windy weather?
