Nearly everything that could’ve gone wrong for head coach Frank Reich and the Carolina Panthers in their Week 10 matchup against the Chicago Bears on Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football did.
One decision that Reich wishes he could take back was when he elected to kick a 59-yard field goal in the final stages of the game on fourth down instead of letting rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young try to pick up a first down. Reich was asked about the decision after the game and he took responsibility for his actions.
"It was a tough decision… as far as percentages, I felt like the percentages – I listened to the analytics guys, talked to coach [Taves]… there was mixed opinions about what we should do. That’s my call," Reich told reporters.
The decision proved to be costly as Panthers kicker Eddy Piñeiro’ wasn’t particularly close to converting the 59-yard attempt, which would’ve been the longest-made field goal of his career had it gone through the uprights.
The Bears got the ball back with roughly a minute-and-a-half to go in the fourth quarter and were able to ice the game thanks to a third-down conversion that wide receiver Darnell Mooney picked up on an eight-yard reception.
It was a late-game blunder from Reich and the Panthers, who got out to an early 10-3 in this game before losing 16-13. The fashion in which the Panthers lost this game practically sums up the way the season has gone for this team, with their record falling to 1-8, tied with the Arizona Cardinals for the worst in the NFL.
