The Series: With the 23-6 victory, Chicago ended a two-game losing streak against Carolina and evened the all-time series at three. The Panthers and Bears have faced each other five times during the regular season and once in the postseason, a 29-21 win by Carolina in the 2005 NFC Divisional Playoffs at Chicago (1/15/06).
For Starters: Rookie Jordan Pugh made his first NFL start at free safety in place of Sherrod Martin, who was inactive with a concussion. With wide receiver Steve Smith sidelined with an ankle injury sustained at New Orleans (10/3/10), Brandon LaFell started his second game of the season.
Fellow rookie wide receiver David Gettis lined up opposite LaFell, and rookie Jimmy Clausen opened at quarterback, marking the first time since Cleveland in 1999 that a team started a rookie quarterback and two rookie wide receivers. The Browns did it eight times with quarterback Tim Couch and wide receivers Kevin Johnson and Darrin Chiaverini.
Mountaineer: Rookie wide receiver Armanti Edwards made his NFL debut after being inactive for the first four games. He took two snaps out of the Mountaineer formation, handing off to Gettis on a wide receiver reverse and rushing for seven yards in addition to lining up at wide receiver.
No Passing Zone: The Panthers set team records for the fewest passing first downs allowed with two and fewest net yards passing allowed with 29. They bettered the previous lows of three passing first downs allowed at Buffalo (9/10/95) and Washington (11/26/06) and 49 net passing yards allowed versus Detroit (9/15/02).
The defense also established a team mark for the third fewest completions allowed with eight. The team record for the fewest completions allowed is four at Buffalo (9/10/95) followed by seven versus Detroit (12/21/03).
Carolina [62] and Chicago [29] combined for 91 net passing yards, the fewest by both teams in a game in franchise history. The previous low was 105 by Carolina [11] at Atlanta [94] (12/24/06).
Takeaway/Giveaway: Carolina forced four turnovers on four interceptions. Defensive tackle Ed Johnson notched his first career interception in the first quarter when he picked off Bears quarterback Todd Collins at the goal line to end a Bears scoring threat. In the second quarter, safety Jordan Pugh snared an overthrown Collins pass for his first career interception. Later in the second quarter, defensive tackle Nick Hayden deflected a Collins pass that defensive end Everette Brown grabbed out of the air for his first career interception. Safety Charles Godfrey heisted his NFL-leading fourth interception in the third quarter and returned it 24 yards to set up a field goal.
The Panthers turned it over three times on three interceptions to finish with a plus-one turnover ratio. The four takeaways resulted in three points for Carolina, and the three giveaways led to six points for Chicago. The Panthers have a negative-four turnover ratio this season, compiling an 0-2 record when having a positive turnover margin and an 0-3 record when having a negative turnover margin.
Sakrete Sacks: The Panthers collected three sacks against the Bears and have gathered seven this season. Rookie defensive end Greg Hardy corralled his first career sack, dropping Bears quarterback Todd Collins for a six-yard loss. Linebacker James Anderson and defensive tackle Nick Hayden shared a sack, taking Collins down for a nine-yard loss. Richard Marshall victimized Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie for a seven-yard sack on a cornerback blitz.
During the 2010 season, Sakrete, a leader in concrete and concrete-related products, is donating $100 to the BVC Playground Build for every sack Carolina records. Through five games, $700 has been raised.
Quarterbacks: Panthers quarterbacks combined to complete 14-of-32 passes for 96 yards and no touchdowns with three interceptions to generate a 12.0 quarterback rating.
Clausen started and completed nine-of-22 passes for 61 yards and no touchdowns with one interception to produce a 29.7 quarterback rating. He also fumbled three times and was sacked five times. Clausen has completed 43-of-91 passes for 454 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions this season.
Matt Moore relieved Clausen in the fourth quarter and completed five-of-10 passes for 35 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions to compile an 18.8 quarterback rating. He has completed 25-of-59 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns with six interceptions this season.
Team Leaders: Running back DeAngelo Williams posted a team-high 51 yards rushing on 12 carries and leads Carolina with 317 yards and one touchdown on 68 attempts this season. Tight end Jeff King, Gettis and Williams shared the team lead with three receptions each. Gettis ranks second on the Panthers this season with 10 catches for 119 yards.
In The Zone: The Panthers posted a 100-percent efficiency rating in the red zone, scoring a field goal on one trip inside the Bears 20-yard line. Carolina has been successful on four-of-nine red zone opportunities, scoring two touchdowns and two field goals for a 44.4 percent conversion rate and 22.2 percent touchdown conversion rate, this season.
The Specialists: Kicker John Kasay connected on two-of-three field-goal attempts - converting from 24 and 53 yards and missing wide right from 51 yards. Over his 20-year NFL career with Seattle and Carolina, Kasay has made 39-of-77 attempts of more than 50 yards, including 33-of-67 for the Panthers, with a career-long 56-yarder versus Green Bay (9/27/98).
He has been successful on five-of-six field-goal attempts and perfect on all five of his extra-point opportunities for a team-leading 20 points this season. Kasay ranks seventh in NFL history with 413 made field goals and eighth with 1,751 points scored. He is the Panthers' all-time leader with 331 made field goals and 1,410 points scored.
Punter Jason Baker generated a gross average of 44.8 yards and net average of 37.2 yards with four inside the 20, no touchbacks and long of 51 yards on nine punts. He tied his single-game high of nine punts, previously accomplished five times - most recently at Oakland (11/2/08). Baker also matched his single-game high of four punts inside the 20, previously accomplished eight times - most recently versus Miami (11/19/09). His gross average improved to 43.6 yards and his net average increased to 37.2 yards with nine punts inside the 20, one touchback and long of 57 yards this season.
Inactives: The following eight players were inactive for the Panthers: safety Sherrod Martin, center Chris Morris, defensive tackle Andre Neblett, tackle Jeff Otah, quarterback Tony Pike, wide receiver Steve Smith, running back Tyrell Sutton, and linebacker Jamar Williams.
Bear Tracks: Running back Matt Forte rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries to become the first player to total more than 100 yards rushing against the Panthers since Michael Turner gained 105 yards for Atlanta (9/20/09)...Safety Danieal Manning finished the game with a 44.3-yard kickoff-return average on three returns, the second-highest average by an opponent behind the record of 47.3 yards by Sammie Stroughter for Tampa Bay (10/18/09)...Kicker Robbie Gould made a 53-yard field goal to equal the third-longest field goal by an opponent, previously accomplished three times - most recently by Rob Bironas for Tennessee (11/4/07)...Quarterback Todd Collins threw four interceptions to match the third most by an opponent, previously accomplished seven times - most recently by Todd Bouman at New Orleans (12/18/05).
