The Panthers started the game in their usual fashion — a handoff up the middle for a small gain. Cameron Artis-Payne made a couple nice plays on the team’s opening drive, but it stalled out after Kyle Allen was sacked. The defense made up for the offense’s shortcomings by absolutely stifling the Bears offense. Rookie linebacker Brian Burns notched two sacks as the Panthers limited the Bears to -4 yards in their first three possessions.
The Panthers offense didn’t fare much better after Will Grier took over for Kyle Allen at quarterback, and the defense started giving up chunks of yards to the Bears.