The Carolina Panthers tallied an impressive 37 points in Sunday's regular-season opener at Bank of America Stadium. But that, somehow, wasn't nearly enough to keep up with their rather rude visitors.
In a wild back-and-forth, for at least a good portion of the contest, the Chicago Bears dusted the Panthers en route to a jaw-dropping 59-37 victory. Those 96 points made for the highest-scoring Week 1 game in history, with Chicago's 59 coming in as the most points ever allowed by the Panthers in their 32-year existence.
After the loss, Panthers head coach Dave Canales was asked if he had concerns about preparation involving himself and/or defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
"It was an incredible day by the Bears," Canales stated. "I can't wait to watch
the film so I can get to the heart of what that was. What I do know is—17 points off turnovers doesn't equal 59 points. And we could've helped that.
"We could've not extended drives with penalties. There were some things that we gave a really good offense more opportunities—they don't need any more opportunities, they were creating their own. And that's something that, collectively, we have to make sure we take care of."
Chicago finished the day with eight touchdowns and 552 total yards, converting on 10 of their 14 third-down tries while winning the possession battle by nearly 10 minutes. Much of their production came out of the backfield, as quarterback Caleb Williams and running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combined for 289 points and six of the scores on the ground.
That output was incredibly disappointing for Carolina, who spent big on a pair of defensive additions this offseason. The Panthers signed outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips to a four-year, $120 million deal and inside linebacker Devin Lloyd to a three-year, $42 million pact, hoping to elevate their pass rush and run defense.
To their credit, Phillips notched one of two sacks for the Panthers and Lloyd notched a team-high 13 tackles. But the unit, as a whole, fell short.
Canales was later asked about how he plans on righting the ship.
"We just gotta get back to work," he replied. "We'll hit it that way. They'll be studs about it.
"We're gonna come back, let's be truthful about what it is and let's just take the next step and get better."
The Panthers will travel to visit the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales is asked about DC Ejiro Evero after allowing franchise-record 59 points
