Bears Offer No Apologies for Another Defensive Gem in 23-16 win
The Bears were in no mood for apologies.
At 5-1, they probably shouldn't be expected to apologize.
Using their blend of timely defense and sporadic offense Sunday, the Bears fended off the Carolina Panthers 23-16.
"Great teams find a way to win a game," quarterback Nick Foles said. "Bad teams win with prettiness. Good teams win no matter how it takes."
This time they didn't need a big comeback, as they had in the past three times. They led all day. They still needed the big-play defense to produce at game's end after their offense couldn't. And for the second straight week it was reserve safety DeAndre Houston Carson doing it by picking off Teddy Bridgewater on first down from the Panthers 20 with 1:32 remaining.
"I told our guys that we're fighters," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. 'We have a bunch of fighters on this team, guys that fight to the end in all three phases.
"Can we be better on offense? Absolutely. But our defense and our special teams today I thought really played well and put us in great situations. From the very start, from the kickoff, setting the tone on special teams, to the defense doing what they did.'
The defense only allowed a touchdown after a questionable pass interference penalty put the Panthers at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter after the Bears had taken a 20-6 lead. They went 1-for-3 in the red zone, had a goal-line stand to force one field goal and took the ball away with another interception by Tashaun Gipson early and a fumble forced by Eddie Jackson's hit.
"Our defense played lights out today," Nagy said.
They sacked Bridgewater four times, held him to 16-of-29 passing for 214 yards and rendered the 112 yards rushing by the Panthers fairly meaningless, as they've done often in games this season. The goal-line stand and their 3-for-13 effort on third downs gave the offense the clearance they needed.
"We were just moreso focused on not letting the guys in," linebacker Roquan Smith said. "They're an NFL team just like we are. So a lot of good players and it was just more so about being a brick wall.
"You know what I'm saying? It's not letting the guys in and forcing them to a field goal. So that was our main thing. And then we've been pretty solid in that area."
Houston-Carson's interception was his first and the defense rallied around him after the game.
"I think that at the end of the day, there is no other team, there is no other defense I'd rather be a part of because it just shows the grit and the grind that these guys got," Houston-Carson said.
The Tashaun Gipson interception came early and set the offense with the ball at the Carolina 7, and Cole Kmet caught his first career touchdown on a pass Foles drilled through a crowd on third down from the 9.
"Really, just a faith throw that Nick made," Kmet said.
Foles went 23-of-39 for 198 yards and made one big mistake with an interception thrown on the play after the fumble Jackson forced and Akiem Hicks recovered.
"The interception, I felt pressure from the left," Foles said. "I was trying to make a play. It was a dumb a interception."
He made up for it with other big plays, like a third-and-9 pass for 25 yards to Alle Robinson with a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty tacked on.
"You know what, A-Rob should not be open on that play," Foles said. "They had two guys on him and he was able to split them and make a play, and then we got that penalty. That was a huge play in this game."
It set up the third field goal of the day for Cairo Santos, a 31-yarder for a 23-13 lead and made a Carolina comeback all the more difficult. Just before halftime Santos had drilled the third-longest field goal in Bears history from 55 yards. The Bears also had a quarterback sneak of 1 yard from Foles to end their only longer scoring drive, a 56-yarder.
Aside from that, the offense sputtered.
"I would first say would you rather lose pretty or win ugly?" Foles said. "I think that we'd rather win ugly. I think that is the common thing so I think it tells you a lot about our team. Is this who we are offensively? We want to improve. We want to get better. We want to have rhythm.
"But ultimately in the NFL it's about winning games. It doesn't matter how you do it, it just matters that you get it done."
No apologies necessary.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
