Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has been far from the most popular man in Charlotte over the past handful of days. But that's what comes with the territory, especially after your unit allows nearly 60 points in front of the home crowd.
On Sunday, the Panthers surrendered a franchise-record 59 points in their season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears. Despite putting up an impressive 37 points of their own, Carolina was doomed in by their overwhelmed defense—which allowed Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and company to run wild all afternoon.
By game's end, Chicago tallied a ridiculous 552 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns. Much of that damage came through the ground, where the Bears rushed for 291 of those yards and six
of those scores.
Evero, who spoke with reporters for the first time since the nightmarish performance, was asked what his defense must do better to tighten up moving forward.
"We gotta play blocks better upfront. There's some thing we can do better schematically," Evero stated on Thursday. "We gotta get in better condition. I think there's a lot of factors there, but we feel like they're all correctable."
Expectations were relatively high for the Panthers defense entering the 2026 campaign. In addition to going from the 32nd-ranked group in 2024 to the 16th in 2025, Carolina signed pass rusher Jaelan Phillips and Pro Bowl linebacker Devin Lloyd to big-money deals out of free agency in the spring.
They, obviously, didn't deliver on those expectations right away—and Evero understands the vitriol from it all. He was later asked about dealing with the criticism coming off the defeat.
"Gotta have it both ways, right?" he replied. "When things go well, I get a lot of praise. When things don't, I don't.
"And I get that part of it. That's fine. But it doesn't really matter. We have to continue to just find a way to get better, and that's the objective."
Week 2 will present Evero and the defense with a pretty good chance at getting better—as they'll travel to face the Atlanta Falcons (and whoever they're starting under center) on Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers DC Ejiro Evero talks about receiving criticism after allowing franchise-record 59 points
