The Panthers offense gave another painful performance against the Bears. And Adam Thielen, the most experienced Carolina receiver, didn’t like the effort. Meanwhile, Bryce Young seemed like he was in shock as the rest of his teammates headed for the buses.
Thielen used the term “embarrassing.”
“We’re just not hitting on all cylinders right now,” Thielen said of the Panthers offense. “We’re not hitting on any cylinders. It’s an embarrassing effort. I think everyone’s just embarrassed, you know, put up what, six points on offense. Like, we didn’t do anything. That’s embarrassing when your defense is playing the way they’re playing, especially the way they’re playing. It’s embarrassing. And like we talked about, we’re putting in good practices. We’re doing the right things; building the momentum that way, but it’s just not translating. That’s tough.”
The Panthers lost to the Bears, 16-13, Thursday night at Soldier Field. Chicago went ahead 16-10 early in the third quarter with a 4-yard TD run from D’Onta Foreman, the former Panthers running back. Meanwhile, the Carolina offense contributed only two short field goals to the scoring column. Their lone touchdown came in the first quarter when Ihmir Smith-Marsette returned a punt for 79 yards.
Young, the rookie and top pick of April’s draft, seemed stunned after the game. A story on the Panthers own website said he took a seat in the lockeroom and stayed there as his other teammates filed out to the buses. Passing game coordinator Parks Frazier sat with Young, although the young quarterback didn’t say anything. Then veteran Andy Dalton, Young’s backup, came over to talk to Young.
Panthers QB Bryce Young was visibly upset in lockerroom
A reporter from The Athletic shared that Young appeared “visibly frustrated” as he talked to the media. He kept repeating “I need to be better.”
The quarterback already had given his team his thoughts about what unfolded in the game that left the Panthers with an NFL-worse 1-8 record. Young threw for 185 yards with the Bears sacking him three times. Meanwhile, the Panthers running game generated only 43 yards. The defense did a better job, but you can’t win games if the offense can’t score touchdowns.
Thielen said Young “addressed us and kind of just shared his emotion. And it was received extremely well from a leader, a guy who puts everything he got in the preparation of the game. And we’re all trying to figure out how to do that. Just kind of holding accountable, holding everybody accountable.
“I think it’s his passion for the game. You know, he’s a winner. He’s a leader. And he expects a lot out of himself. When you expect a lot of yourself, you just kind of hold everybody accountable, including himself, which the great leaders do. And everyone’s kind of got to look themselves in the mirror and say, you know, how can I get better? What can I do to get better and figure it out fast?”
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