(670 The Score) When Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro missed a 59-yard field-goal attempt with 1:35 left Thursday night at Soldier Field, fists pumped, people hugged and joy filled the air.
And that was just in living rooms all across America.
Pineiro’s miss meant there would be no overtime in the nationally televised slog that surely nobody DVR’d.
OMG, no OT! What a relief, the audience exclaimed.
On the sideline, the Bears celebrated their 16-13 win just as wildly, relieved to hold on against a Panthers team that lived down to its reputation as the worst in the NFL.
The Bears won their second straight home game because they simply couldn’t afford to lose it, not to this collection of Carolina misfits. Not with the Bears owning the Panthers’ first-round draft pick next April, the strongest incentive on this night. Eking it out improved the Bears’ record to 3-7, but it would be an exaggeration to make too much of this result. This was survival more than a breakthrough, running in place more than taking a step, a snack as opposed to a meal. This was a bad team beating a worse team but needing 58 minutes and 34 seconds to remove any doubt.
That’s when rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent completed an eight-yard pass to receiver Darnell Mooney on third-and-7 with 1:26 on the clock to put everyone out of their misery. It said everything about the Bears’ ultra-safe approach that coach Matt Eberflus was asked postgame why he trusted Bagent to throw in that situation rather than run.
“A really good play-call by Luke (Getsy)," Eberflus told reporters. “Beautiful catch."
Speaking of Bagent, he completed 20 of 33 passes for 162 yards without a touchdown or interception for a 73.0 passer rating. Bagent matched Panthers counterpart Bryce Young, who hit 21 of 38 throws for 185 yards and a 68.4 passer rating. But this was hardly Joe Burrow v. Josh Allen, the primetime matchup between the Bengals and Bills three nights earlier that had nobody reaching for their remotes. This looked like two young quarterbacks with enormous room to improve.
This also underscored for the Bears how ready they will be to welcome Justin Fields back from a thumb injury for their game against the Lions on Nov. 19. Fields missed his fourth game Thursday, as he was inactive after coach Matt Eberflus ruled him doubtful Wednesday during a truly bizarre press conference at Halas Hall. Eberflus offered no new updates postgame, but Fields has resumed throwing at practice and has more than a week left to heal. In his absence, the offense again lacked explosiveness.
Not that Bagent played poorly, but he operated carefully. He performed like the capable, competent backup quarterback he has become – and that’s a compliment. But remember this: Playing not to lose can beat the Panthers, but that's no way to approach the final seven games of the season. At some point again, the Bears must threaten defenses again in a way they don’t with Bagent.
“As a rookie quarterback, he went 2-2," Eberflus said happily. “A big thing too was that he was avoiding sacks. He didn’t put ball in harm’s way."
Bagent’s longest completion went to DJ Moore for 16 yards. His most impressive throw came on a 15-yarder to Tyler Scott on fourth-and-4. He missed open receivers and threw erratically toward others. But how many times in the first half did one of Bagent’s incompletions come too close to an interception? Getsy surely noticed – and tightened up even more.
On third-and-19 at the Bears' own 14-yard line with 1:34 left in the third, for instance, Bagent handed off to Roschon Johnson and the crowd voiced its disapproval. But the boobirds failed to consider why the conservative call made sense. Bagent’s No. 1 priority was to protect the football. A week after five Bears turnovers doomed any chance of beating the Saints, that tenet outweighed any temptation to throw the ball on third-and-forever. At that point of the game, it made more sense to be unpopular than to risk coming unglued.
Besides, the running game did its part to help the Bears control the ball for 33 minutes, 31 seconds. D’Onta Foreman grinded out 80 yards on 21 carries against his former team, returning from the injury tent to run over defenders.
Yards were as hard to come by as points. The Bears possessed the ball for nearly 19 minutes in the first half and managed only three field goals. That’s hard to do.
The game was so slow-moving at times that, if it was a package, Amazon would've delivered it late. As it was, the sponsor’s broadcasters found the matchup so riveting that Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit interviewed Eagles center Jason Kelce – or “Taylor’s Boyfriend’s Brother," as the Wiener Circle referred to Kelce on its sign – much longer than they would have in a game that included actual NFL offenses.
The most memorable highlight came courtesy of a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown by Panthers receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who took advantage of several missed tackles by the Bears coverage team. If the name sounds familiar, Smith-Marsette is the same guy whose fourth-quarter fumble cost the Bears a victory against the Vikings last season. Soon after, he was cut and later landed on the Chiefs roster – for whom he won a Super Bowl ring.
He won’t come close to doing that anytime soon with the Panthers, who buoyed the Bears’ confidence.
For the first time in awhile, a Bears pass rush that came in with a league-low 10 sacks generated pressure. Justin Jones, Yannick Ngakoue and Rasheem Green sacked Young, and new defensive end Montez Sweat applied heat from the edge. Sweat generated eight pressures in his second game with the Bears, the most by a Bears pass rusher since Robert Quinn in Week 13 in 2020, according to NextGen Stats.
The Bears also disguised coverages well with safeties Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson playing a full game together for the first time since early in the season. Nickelback Kyler Gordon flashed. Linebacker Jack Sanborn flew around and nearly clinched the game with a late interception he just dropped.
As a result, Young never appeared comfortable and rushed throws. Whether it was Young’s happy feet or inexperienced eyes, the No. 1 overall pick hardly looked the part. Inaccuracy led to inconsistency, which did nothing to make the Panthers feel any better about drafting Young ahead of C.J. Stroud – who set a rookie passing record for the Texans last week.
The Panthers managed only 213 total yards and didn’t stretch the field as much as constrict it, dinking and doinking their way down the field. The Bears let them, content to keep everything in front of them the way Cover-2 teams typically do. The approach was more monotonous than menacing, and the Bears defense was up to the challenge, surrendering only two measly field goals.
It was enough to make Eberflus absolutely giddy by his standards. When a reporter asked Eberflus postgame about telling Amazon reporter at halftime he “had something up his sleeve" in the second half, the usually reserved coach shot back in jest: “What’s up yours?’’
Flus flashed a smile. After the half season full of dysfunction and disappointment that the Bears have endured, their head coach was entitled to enjoy the rare celebration.
“It’s fun to come to work," Eberflus said.
It’s been awhile.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-10 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on Twitter @DavidHaugh.