What We Saw: Panthers at Bears

This Thursday Night matchup was everything you expected it to be

Ben Brown
What We Saw 12 Months Ago

Panthers @ Bears

Final Score: Bears 16, Panthers 13

Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on X/Twitter)

 

A week after throwing two pick-sixes to Kenny Moore III in a nightmare start against the Colts, Bryce Young looked to bounce back against a struggling Bears defense. Meanwhile, Justin Fields missed his fourth straight game, giving rookie Tyson Bagent yet another opportunity to showcase his skills. Neither QB really showcased much of anything in this game besides rookie jitters, as both offenses struggled to move the ball consistently all night long. The best offensive player on the field was D’Onta Foreman, who scored the only offensive touchdown of the game in the third quarter. Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored on a punt return in the 1st quarter, Carolina’s only trip to the end zone.

Coming out of the half, Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus said he was excited for the 2nd half because “we have some things up our sleeves,” then smirked. The Bears immediately punted on their first drive, and whatever is hiding under Eberflus’ sleeves will have to wait another week before they’re revealed. If they even exist at all.

 

 

One Up

  • D’Onta Foreman – The lone bright spot in an otherwise ghastly game

Three Down

  • America – For having to watch this game in primetime
  • Anyone not named D’Onta Foreman – For not doing anything good for your fantasy team
  • Shorts – Winter is coming

 

Carolina Panthers

 

Quarterback

 

Bryce Young: 21/38, 185 yards, 3 sacks | 3 carries, 18 yards

Bryce Young is in the midst of some serious rookie struggles right now. He’s making some very poor decisions at this point in the season, having given up two pick-sixes last week and nearly had two in this one. He is really struggling under pressure and making bad decisions as a result. As soon as he feels rushed he dumps it off, and on two of those instances he threw balls out to the sideline with too much air under them, and had the defenders on each reacted a split second quicker they were primed for a pick six. Four of his throws could have very easily been intercepted, so he’s very lucky he did not turn the ball over in this game. While Young may not be fantasy relevant, his struggles will bring down the ceiling for Adam Thielen for those of us who have ridden him to so much early season success this year.

Notes

  • 3rd and 7, scrambled for a first down
  • Scrambled for another first down three plays later, put a nice juke move on Jaquan Brisker. 3rd and 5 this time
  • Overthrew a wide open Terrace Marshall Jr., had a chance to be a really big play if they connected. Huge missed opportunity
  • Dangerous throw to the flat off his back foot, had pick six written all over it
  • 44 yard rainbow to Mike Strachan
  • Threw a very interceptable ball right through a defender’s hands
  • Another bad throw that really should have been a pick six.
  • Yet another bad throw, right to a defender’s hands. Couldn’t catch it but it was right there for him. Fourth INT that wasn’t

 

Running Back

 

Miles Sanders: 2 carries, -5 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards

Sanders impressed me a lot in his limited work last week. He looked explosive and shifty, something we haven’t seen out of him all season. So naturally he was barely involved at all in this game. He did not receive a touch in the first half and only saw eight snaps. He recorded his first carry on the 2nd play of the 2nd half. Chuba Hubbard led the charge on the ground once again and those who are holding out hope that Sanders will do anything for fantasy teams this week are likely going to give up after this, and I don’t blame them. I still think there’s something there based on what I saw last week, but until they actually start giving him touches on a regular basis he’s just not worth your time.

 

Chuba Hubbard: 9 carries, 23 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards

The Panthers decided that running the football would not be part of their gameplan in this game, and Chuba Hubbard had very limited opportunities as a result. I will say, however, that Chuba was one Jaquan Brisker tackle away from an easy 16 yard touchdown run, so those of you who had the misfortune of firing up Chuba for fantasy purposes nearly had a respectable game. Alas, it was just another disappointing result for a player that has never lived up to expectations.

 

 

Raheem Blackshear: 2 carries, 7 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Adam Thielen: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 42 yards

Adam Thielen had set a milestone in this game, earning his 600th career reception. It’s a mark that not many undrafted guys have ever reached.

 

 

When Bryce Young is feeling pressure, he doesn’t seem to look Thielen’s way. Instead, he looks to dump it off by the sideline, which is not where Thielen typically works. And in the last two games, Young has faced a ton of pressure. The pocket broke down often in this game, and we saw Young either scramble or get rid of it quickly to avoid the sack. It’s what you get with a rookie QB on a bad team, and Thielen’s fantasy output is hurt as a result.

 

Jonathan Mingo: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards

With D.J. Chark Jr. inactive, Mingo stepped up into the WR2 role in this offense. Most of Mingo’s targets weren’t within his catch radius, so he did not have much of a chance to take advantage of the opportunity he was given in this game.

 

Terrace Marshall Jr.: 3 targets, 1 reception, 11 yards

The biggest play of the game for Terrace Marshall Jr. was actually an incompletion. Marshall found himself open on a crossing route after beating his defender, and he had a ton of space to work with once he made the catch. Unfortunately, Bryce Young overthrew him. It was a huge missed opportunity for the offense. Later in the game, Marshall had a bad drop on 3rd and long that would have helped extend their final drive before a missed 59-yard field goal ended the game.

 

Hayden Hurst: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards

Hurst took a huge hit from Jaquan Brisker late and had to come out of the game. He looked hurt. If you rely on Hurst for some reason, monitor this situation.

 

Tommy Tremble: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 16 yards

Mike Strachan: 2 targets, 1 reception, 45 yards

 

Chicago Bears

 

Quarterback

 

Tyson Bagent: 20/33, 162 yards | 6 carries, 12 yards

Tyson Bagent does not look like the answer at QB for Chicago at this point in his young career. He was 0/3 on third down and 0/2 throwing on the run in the first half, and the second half was not much better. He ended the first half with a hard tackle to the ground, hitting his head off the turf and getting up slowly. He did not come out of the game, however, and seemed fine after. His most notable play on the night was a misread, a play where Tyler Scott found himself wide open deep down the middle of the field and Bagent either didn’t see him or decided to just dump it off instead. It was honestly puzzling, but Bagent’s arm strength has been questioned in recent weeks so that could be to blame. Bagent nearly had a touchdown throw to Darnell Mooney on a quick slant at the goal line, but he threw it a bit behind the WR, who couldn’t haul it in for the score. The Bears secured the win but Bagent is not the reason why.

Notes

  • On their opening drive, Bagent forced a throw through tight coverage to Cole Kmet on 3rd and 10. The ball was tipped, deflected off a helmet, and was nearly intercepted by a third defender downfield. Not a great decision.

 

 

Running Back

 

D’Onta Foreman: 21 carries, 80 yards, TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards

Khalil Herbert is coming back soon, but it’s still Foreman’s job for the moment. Foreman stood out as the lone bright light in an otherwise dim offensive game. From the get-go, Foreman showed excellent burst and ran hard on the ground in a revenge game against his former team. He gained 43 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter alone, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He had a nice touchdown in the 2nd half where he was met at the goal line by a defender, kept himself off the ground, and spun around to lunge into the end zone. It was a respectable game for the veteran RB against his former team.

 

Roschon Johnson: 5 carries, 18 yards | 6 targets, 4 receptions, 14 yards

Notes

  • First carry came midway through the 2nd quarter

 

Darrynton Evans: 2 carries, 5 yards | 2 targets

Notes

  • Target went through his hands on 2nd play of the game

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

D. J. Moore: 9 targets, 5 receptions, 58 yards | 1 carry, 1 yard

On a night where Tyson Bagent wasn’t sharp or accurate, it’s not a surprise that exactly half of D. J. Moore‘s yardage total came on two WR screens early in the game. Once again, Chicago did nothing creative to get the ball in Moore’s hands in space, or if they did they certainly didn’t go back to it at any point. One has to think the offense is being dumbed down with a rookie WR at the helm.

 

Darnell Mooney: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards

Notes

  • Made a nice play to knock a bad pass by Bagent away from a defender, preventing an interception
  • Quick in route on 1st and goal, ball was behind him. Not a great throw by Bagent

 

Cole Kmet: 7 targets, 5 carries, 45 yards | 1 carry, 1 yard

Like D. J. Moore, Cole Kmet‘s yardage total was boosted by two notable long catch-and-runs on short screens/dump-offs. Bagent did not target Kmet as often as he probably should have, but Carolina’s surprisingly stingy defense had pretty good coverage on Chicago’s offensive “weapons” for much of the night. It’s clear that Kmet is still one of Bagent’s favorite targets, and that will continue to pay dividends as we get deeper into the fantasy season.

 

Equanimeous St. Brown: 1 target, 1 reception, 4 yards

 

Tyler Scott: 1 target, 1 reception, 15 yards | 1 carry, 16 yards

Should have been targeted when he found himself wide open downfield and Bagent instead decided to dump it off. Probably would have been a touchdown.

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@justparadesigns on Twitter/X)

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