CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears were unconcerned about appearances. All that mattered was that they won.
D’Onta Foreman scored for the Bears, who defeated the Carolina Panthers 16-13 on Thursday night.
”At the end of the day, man, all the hard work we put in, even if it’s not pretty, it still feels fantastic,” Foreman said. ”You know what I mean?”
The prime-time clash between two NFL teams in the bottom five produced about as much drama as could be expected. However, Chicago (3-7) produced enough plays to win.
The Bears improved their chances of landing the No. 1 pick by acquiring Carolina’s first-round pick.
With a 4-yard run in the third quarter, Foreman put the Bears up 16-10. Carolina’s Eddy Pineiro missed a 59-yard field goal with 1:40 remaining in the game, the ball dropping just short of the goal post. Darnell Mooney caught an 8-yard pass on third-and-seven at the Bears’ 48-yard line to seal the victory.Moore has five receptions for 58 yards against his former team.
Tyson Bagent completed 20 of 33 throws for 162 yards in his fourth consecutive start, with Justin Fields out with a dislocated right thumb. With the undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia in the lineup, the Bears are 2-2.
Fields hasn’t played since leaving a defeat to Minnesota in Week 6. Eberflus has stated numerous times that he is still the Bears’ starting quarterback. He wouldn’t say whether he expected Fields to play next week in Detroit.
”We’ll see where it is,” said Eberflus. ”It’s a huge week to make that assessment, so we’ll see where it stands. Justin will be our starter once he is recovered.”
Cairo Santos scored three goals. The Bears established a pass rush, sacking Bryce Young three times. It was a significant turnaround for a squad that had a league-low 10 through nine games.
”They got swagger,” said defensive end Montez Sweat, who recorded three quarterback hits in his second game since being acquired from Washington on the trade deadline. ”I really enjoy how these people are kind of plug and play. I’m really working with them to figure out the energy they’re providing.”
