CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Bears cruised into halftime with a 13-6 lead over the Panthers thanks to a tremendous start by their defense and a sharp performance by quarterback Nick Foles.
They also snuck a 55-yard field goal by Cairo Santos in with two seconds left in the second quarter.
The Bears nearly sunk the Panthers for a safety in the opening minutes, but Teddy Bridgewater was ruled down inside the 1-yard line on Bilal Nichols’ sack. On the next play, rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson broke up a pass and safety Tashaun Gipson caught the deflection for an interception.
That set the Bears up with first-and-goal at the 7, and after a clunky sequence that included a delay-of-game penalty coming out of a timeout, Foles hit Cole Kmet for a touchdown — the first of his career.
Foles completed nine of his first 10 passes and closed the first half 14 of 20 for 114 yards with a touchdown for a 100.8 passer rating.
As usual, the Bears have been unable to run whatsoever. David Montgomery has gotten all seven of their carries and has 13 yards.
