Bears trail Panthers at halftime after punt return TD
Panthers returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette stiff-arms Bears punter Trenton Gill on the way to a touchdown Thursday.
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What could have been the DJ Moore Revenge Game or the D’Onta Foreman Revenge Game has turned into something else by halftime.
Would you believe the Ihmir Smith-Marsette Revenge Game?
The former Bears receiver returned a punt for a touchdown in the first quarter and the Panthers lead 10-9 at halftime at Soldier Field.
About 10 minutes into the game, Smith-Marsette fielded a punt at the Panthers’ 24, slipped a diving tackle by Josh Blackwell to his left, and cut back through a sea of Bears and toward the right sideline. He had one player to beat — punter Trenton Gill — and did just that at the Bears’ 30 before running up the right sideline and into the end zone.
The punt return touchdown was only the 10th since the start of the 2021 season.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos made a 49-yard field goal to cap the Bears’ next drive, but Cody Whitehair was called for a false start. The Bears were moved back five yards and tried again; Santos made the 54-yarder.
Eddy Pineiro, another ex-Bears, parried with his own field goal. Santos booted a 36-yarder to go down four with about three minutes left in the half.
Neither quarterback — the Panthers’ Bryce Young, the reigning No. 1 overall pick, or undrafted Bears rookie Tyson Bagent — has played well thus far. Young, the former Alabama star, is 7-for-14 for 63 yards and a 62.5 passer rating.
Bagent, who is starting with Justin Fields out, marched the Bears from their own 9 to give Santos a 39-yard field goal as the first half expired. The Bears went 70 yards on nine plays in 1:12.
Bagent is 14-for-24 for 127 yards and a 72.7 passer rating.