Bear Digest

Bears and Panthers In-Game Blog: Bears 21, Panthers 7 2nd

Reporting and analysis from Soldier Field where the Bears and Caleb Williams try to go 3-2 on the season with a game against the Carolina Panthers.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams comes out during pregame at Soldier Field before the Week 5 game with the Carolina Panthers.
Caleb Williams comes out during pregame at Soldier Field before the Week 5 game with the Carolina Panthers. / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
In this story:

Second Quarter

Dexter with pressure rushes the throw and Stevenson is there to knock it down. First down Bears at their 38. And they'll get the ball to start the second half too.

  • On third-and-3 from the Bears 37, the ball sails high and off Sanders' hands. Fourth-and-3.
  • Finally Dalton with a pass downfield. Hit one in front of Byard for 8 to the Bears 44. Then Tyrique Stevenson nearly picks one off to Mingo.
  • Swift with 67 yards rushing and 57 yards receiving. 2-MINUTE WARNING!!!
  • Finally, Swift gets to score his own TD on a simple dive behind Matt Pryor at right guard. Ends a three-play, 44-yard drive in only 35 seconds. That's the way you take momentum back and then burn someone. Bears 21, Panthers 7
  • Swift run comes down just inside the 1 on first down. Tommy Treble is being evaluated for a concussion for the Panthers.
  • A 42-yard screen to Swift to the 1. Perfectly set up and another Panthers injury. Jadeveon Clowney hurt.
  • Tremble with a 9-yard catch but is stripped of the ball and Gervon Dexter recovers for the Bears. Tremble also injured on the play. Not to mention that Carolina was blocking downfield for him before he even caught the pass. No call on it but it's the Bears' ball at the Panthers' 44. Give Jaquan Brisker the strip on the play with a big hit on the ball.
  • A third-down .J. Edwards prevents a big gain with a shoestring tackle from behind on a 5-yard gain and then Kyler Gordon and Andrew Billings combine on a sack on the slot blitz. An unlikely sack duo if ever there was one.
  • They gamble on fourth down and Johnson gains nothing. Panthers ball. Too much fakery and messing around on the play. It needed to hit straight ahead. Carolina takes over at its 39 and now has momentum. There is 4:18 left in the half. Bears with 93 yards rushing, 98 passing but they couldn't get 1 yard when they needed it.
  • Facing third-and-2 after a 4-yard pass to Odunze and 4-yard scrum play but then Johnson gets only 1.
  • Enter Roschon Johnson and two runs net 11 to Carolina's 48. He made a super jump cut on the first run before powering ahead for 8.
  • Panthers defense coming up hard from the secondary stops Swift for a loss on fi rst down, then Moore can't hold a diving throw while being hit on top. Nice pass though. The checkdown artist finds Gerald Everett and Everett gets a first down on YAC.
  • Williams 5-of-7 for 77 yards so far with a TD. A 147.0 passer rating.
  • Bears at their 30 after a 49-yard punt by Hekker that was nearly blocked.
  • Diontae Johnson very slippery , gets away for a 2-yard pass that seemed to be going nowhere. Miles Sanders in for Panthers and gets 3 so it's third-and-5. The lateral passing keeps on going for Panthers and going nowhere. A pass for no gain and a punt with another three-and-out.
  • Bears running game is at work and it's making Williams' job easier, even if he has been holding it too long when he passes today.
  • Swift in for the whole drive but then comes out and Roschon Johnson gets to power in from the 1 for the TD. Excellent straight-ahead blocking by the full line. Easy score to end a 13-play, 80-yard drive in 6:27. Longest TD drive of the year. Bears 14, Panthers 7
  • Panthers return the favor but it's first-and-goal now at the 3 after 12 men on the field. Carolina saw it and couldn't get the timeout called. Then Swift for 2 inside. Doug Kramer in!
  • Swift simple run inside gets the first down and then the TD on a 1-yard run but the Bears were called for an illegal shift. First and goal at the 6.
  • Nifty footwork on a scramble at the sideline for Williams and a first down at the 11, then Swift powers ahead off left tackle to the 6. Needs to keep running forward, not laterally.
  • The Panthers finally stop a Swift run, holding him to 2 but then he takes a toss and does big damage around left end for 18. Great downfield blocking on that one. At the 23, the Bears then turn to Rome Odunze on a wide receiver screen and get 6.
  • Recently retired Derrick Rose in attendance and the crowd goes wild.

First Quarter

  • Williams spent about 15 seconds running around in the pocket, escaped for a first down and the quarter ended with the ball at Carolina's 43.
  • Bears from the 20 and Swift goes right back to work on the ground for 4 but then the boot pass to DJ for 26. Williams at ease throwing on the run. They need to move the pocket more.
  • If they can keep that ball in Dalton's hands, they could have a sack festival today. He doesn't move really well laterally. It took him several seconds to gain 3 yards on his scramble.
  • Dalton gets back 3 on a slow scramble and on third-and-13, he doesn't escape as Gervon Dexter gets half a sack and DeMarcus Walker joins in. Good punt by Johnny Hekker 65 yards and the Bears take over at their 20 after touchback with 2:11 left in the quarter.
  • Panthers continuing to attack the Bears defense with passes to the outside and runs up the middle., but put themselves in a hole with 12 men in the huddle and face second-and-16.
  • After our technical difficulties...DJ Moore wide open on a 34-yard TD pass from Caleb Williams to end a seven-play drive, four of those on the ground with D'Andre Swift. Bears 7, Panthers 7
  • On first down Hubbard runs right up the middle and no one is home. A 38-yard TD. Bears run defense had leaked for two weeks and it just caved in on that TD. Panthers 7, Bears 0
  • Panthers face third-and-2 at the Bears 43 after a short pass and a 2-yard Diontae Johnson n run. They do get the first down eventually on a 4-yard end-around but it wasn't easy, coming on fourth-and-1.
  • It's another poor start for Shane Waldron's offense. Panthers with great field position at their own 49 after the punt.
  • Bad pass by Caleb Williams short to Keenan Allen on first down and it put the Bears in a hole right away, then he held the ball on third down too long and got sacked. They go three-and-out and punt.
  • An incompletion with T.J. Edwards in coverage and the Bears take over after a punt at their 18.
  • Panthers starting at the 30 after a touchback and go to Chuba Hubbard for 4 off left guard. They will not hesitate to commit to the run. But on second down Hubbard is slammed to the turf by Kyler Gordon on a pass for no gain. Excellent coverage by Gordon.
  • Bears win the toss and defer.

Pregame

  • Vikings hang on with a pick on a terrible missed call. Should have been pass interference and illegal contact all at once.
  • First team practicing in warmups with Matt Pryor at right guard, Teven Jenkins at left guard. So Nate Davis is the reserve.
  • It's been a steady progression from the first game disaster to where Caleb Williams is now. The next step would be some big yardage numbers and efficiency in a win. His net yards per attempt have been 5.12 and 5.93 the last two games and need to improve but they're way above the 3.05 and 2.06 in the first two weeks. He had 6.8 yards an attempt and 7.0 in the last two games and that's acceptable, although to be a better QB he'll need to get up to 7.5. Next Gen says he's getting rid of it in 2.76 seconds, 14th fastest and one spot behind Patrick Mahomes.
  • Cairo Santos brought out the big leg in warmups. He made it from 57 going at the north end and south end. A 57-yarder would be a career high. Eddy Pineiro wasn't as effective. The former Bears kicker who kicks for Carolina missed well short from 54 going at the south end zone.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.