"Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear, well, he eats you."
So said The Stranger to The Dude in 1998's "The Big Lebowski." And unfortunately for the Carolina Panthers, the latter definitely applied to them in their 59-37 loss on Sunday.
Their season-opening loss served as a tasty showcase for the visiting Chicago Bears, who racked up 552 total yards en route to the fourth-highest scoring output in their long history. The 59-point explosion was also the most the Panthers have ever given up, and added to a pretty concerning trend for their defense.
According to Steven Patton, Carolina has now tallied an NFL-high eight games of allowing at least 40 points since 2023 . . .
Most games allowing 40+ points since 2023 (regular season only):
8 - Panthers 7 - Cowboys 6 - Cardinals 5 - Commanders 4 - Bears 4 - Bengals 4 - Titans 3 - 10 teams tied
— Steven Patton (@PattonAnalytics) September 14, 2026
That's when Ejiro Evero took over as the Panthers' defensive coordinator, a tenure that's been marked by ups and downs—and far too many humiliating performances like Sunday's.
To be fair, the Panthers front office hasn't exactly set him up for success with his personnel. Carolina's defensive talent was near the bottom of the league when he took the job and it's only recently climbed out of the cellar. Inside linebacker Devin Lloyd is the first above-average starting linebacker they've had on the roster and their edge rotation has consistently been one of the weakest in football.
That being said, the front office spent big this year to upgrade their front seven with Lloyd and outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips—and Evero has some decent pieces now. But allowing 59 points, to any offense, is certainly not acceptable.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: This worrisome trend could prove devastating for Panthers DC Ejiro Evero
