Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers take a step back in sloppy loss to Chicago

It’s more so that the Panthers, particularly Bridgewater, just didn’t do anything special.

What do Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and quarterback win-loss records all have in common? They’re all fake. (Sorry, kids.)

You can’t just relegate a team’s victories and defeats to its quarterback. He only plays half of the game. What if, say, Teddy Bridgewater were to complete 25 of his 25 pass attempts for 500 yards and five touchdowns, yet, sees his Carolina Panthers go down in a 49-35 loss? Surely, the loss isn’t his fault. His defense gave up seven touchdowns. He played a perfect game. So why attribute that to him?

Well, QBWinz still persist for a reason. It’s football’s sloppy way of saying the quarterback position is the most important in all of sports.

Your team usually will only go as far as your QB does. And while there’s no easy statistic to quantify that, Teddy tried his damnedest to make that transparent on Sunday.

Carolina dropped to 3-3 this afternoon in a sloppy showing against the now 5-1 Chicago Bears. And the Bears didn’t do anything special to come away with a 23-16 win. It’s more so that the Panthers, particularly Bridgewater, just didn’t do anything special.

Bridgewater wasn’t close to the statistical juggernaut he was in the weeks prior. He saw his league-leading completion percentage (73.4) take a serious dive, completing just 16 of 29 throws (55.2 percent), against a stout defense. His passing yardage wasn’t up to snuff, with 216 yards after entering with a bulky average of 292.0 per game. He also threw two costly interceptions and zero touchdowns.

But it was the nature of those numbers that were more worrisome for a Panthers team suddenly looking to compete for a playoff spot.

Bridgewater’s first pick came on Carolina’s first drive, right after eating a sack that very well could have been a safety. Bridgewater tried to force one in to Robby Anderson, who was draped in coverage by rookie Jaylon Johnson on a 3rd & 19 from the Panthers’ one-yard line.

The ball bounced off Anderson and into the waiting hands of Tashaun Gipson. The Bears would capitalize off the giveaway, as a touchdown from Nick Foles to tight end Cole Kmet put the Panthers into a 7-0 hole not even four minutes in.

Bridgewater could not dig his offense out of that hole, as Carolina trailed the entire way. While he could have gotten a little more help from his receivers, most notably DJ Moore – who had a few ugly drops, Teddy appeared off the mark and struggled while facing pressure throughout.

That connection combined for the game’s most defining moment. On a 4th & 2 from the Bears’ 38 with 2:00 remaining and down seven, Bridgewater missed Moore on a wide open pass that would’ve set up the Panthers well inside the red zone.

He got a second chance at tying the game after a defensive stand that limited Chicago to just eight yards in 23 seconds. But Bridgewater would waste that one too, rather immediately, as he hit DeAndre Houston-Carson in stride.

It was a perfect throw, just to the wrong team.

Overall, Sunday wasn’t exactly a disaster for Carolina. Their young studs on defense in Brian Burns (three quarterback hits) and Jeremy Chinn (one interception) impressed yet again in helping limit the opposition to a paltry 261 yards and they stayed quite close and competitive until the final whistle. So, by no means, are we blowing up the season now.

Bridgewater still has some steps to take, though. Sure, he can guide a well-called, finely-tuned offense. And sure, everything looks fine and peachy while they’re ahead on the scoreboard.

Is he a QB who can consistently handle the pressure in the pocket? Is he a guy who can win games you’re supposed to lose? And is he a leader who can take this improbable group to the postseason?

So far, even with all his sexy numbers, the answer is no.

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