Santos, Foreman leads Bear to victory; Panthers drop to 1-9

Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Kicker Cario Santos made three field goals and the Chicago Bears defense held the Carolina Panthers offense to no offensive touchdowns, 213 total yards and just 12 first downs in an ugly victory to start Week 10.

Bears running back D'Onta Foreman logged 92 yards from scrimmage and scored the lone offensive touchdown of the 16-13 victory Thursday at Soldier Field in Chicago. The loss dropped the Carolina Panthers to 1-9, the worst record in the NFL.

"I've learned that it's really hard to win in the NFL," Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent, who started in place of injured starter Justin Fields, told reporters. "I appreciate all the wins and I appreciate the team.

"The staff and players have all rallied behind me extremely well."

Panthers wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored the first points of the night when he found the end zone on a 79-yard punt return with 5:46 remaining in the first quarter.

Santos made a 54-yard field goal about three minutes later. Kicker Eddy Pineiro made a 33-yard kick on the next possession to push the Panthers lead back to seven points.

Santos added two more field goals for the Bears in the second quarter, but the Panthers still led 10-9 at halftime.

Neither team scored through the first three drives of the second half. Bagent then orchestrated a 9-play, 38-yard drive. Foreman ended that possession with a 4-yard rushing score and the Bears never trailed again.

Pineiro made a 39-yard field goal four minutes into the fourth quarter for the final points of the game. He went on to miss a game-tying attempt with 1:40 remaining. That 59-yard kick faded left and fell short of the goalposts.

The Bears offense then picked up a first down on the next drive and ran out the rest of the clock to secure their third win of the season.

Bagent completed 20 of 33 passes for 162 yards in the victory. Wide receiver D.J. Moore caught five passes for a game-high 58 yards for the Bears. Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young completed 21 of 38 passes for 185 yards in the loss.

Bears tackle Justin Jones and defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and Rasheem Green each logged a sack.

"I really thought that we played some good complementary football," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "I really thought that the defense did a really good job of creating some short fields for our offense most of the day, and that was good.

"We capitalized on some of them. It was that kind of game. Both defenses played well today. I think overall we handled it well and put ourselves in position to win the game."

The Panthers (1-9) will host the Dallas Cowboys (5-3) on Nov. 19 in Charlotte, N.C. The Bears (3-7) will battle the Detroit Lions (6-2) on Nov. 19 in Detroit.