CHICAGO (670 The Score) – As Bears running back Roschon Johnson celebrated his second touchdown of the day in Chicago’s 36-10 win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Soldier Field, a scuffle broke out behind him with 4:23 remaining in regulation.
Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn threw two punches toward the facemask of Bears left guard Bill Murray. That led Bears right guard Matt Pryor to enter the fray and deliver a punch back at Horn. Both Horn and Pryor were ejected for their role in the skirmish, which included offsetting penalties called on the Bears and Panthers.
Pryor regretted his actions in the altercation but not his decision to defend Murray.
“I’m going to have my teammate’s back,” Pryor said. “I felt like he took it a little too far. But obviously I would like to handle it a little differently next time and handle it within the play as opposed to like that.
“That was kind of just in the moment and a reaction. He swung once and then he swung again, so in my head I kind of went blank and swung. I would’ve liked to handle it differently, but it was what it is.”
The Bears took a 36-10 lead on Johnson’s one-yard touchdown run. They then went for and missed a two-point conversion as they held a 26-point lead. The decision to go for two wasn’t rooted in a measure of revenge on the Panthers but was rather based on analytics, Bears coach Matt Eberflus said.
The Bears (3-2) will play the Jaguars (1-4) next Sunday in London.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.