The Panthers lost their Thursday night matchup with the Bears, 16–13, in a sloppy game that everybody expected.
The result came down to a game-tying 59-yard field goal attempt by Carolina’s Eddy Piñeiro, which fell short.
Coach Frank Reich may have felt that there wasn’t a better choice facing fourth-and-10 from the Chicago 41-yard line as the team could only generate 213 yards of total offense and its touchdown came on a punt return by Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the first quarter.
Quarterback Bryce Young had only thrown for 185 yards.
The Panthers kicker wasn’t even close when he attempted a 59-yard kick in the fourth quarter and he seemed to know he had no shot as slow-motion video captured his reaction right after he missed it.
“That’s my call,” Reich said in his postgame press conference. “I’ve seen us make 60-yarders in practice, felt like there a little breeze at our back. If you look at the pure percentages, the pure percentage play is to kick it.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
Piñeiro’s attempt was short and the Panthers lost their eighth game of the season.
In the aftermath, fans continue to question whether Young is an NFL-caliber quarterback and whether the team should’ve gone with CJ Stroud instead.
Whether or not Reich will last more than one season as the Panthers’ head coach is also being debated.
In the 2022 season, the Panthers remained in the playoff picture up until Week 17, when they were eliminated with a loss to their NFC South rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Being 1-8 pretty much assures that it will not take that long in 2023.
