The Panthers have a 13-7 halftime lead over the Bears, thanks to a pass-rush that hasn’t been evident in their first six games.
They’ve gotten to Jay Cutler regularly, with six sacks so far, two of them leading to fumbles.
Cutler has a whopping 40 passing yards and an interception at halftime, and the Panthers are starting to mix in a few blitzes rather than relying solely on the front four. Although that front four has played well enough to sustain them.
The Panthers are grinding away at them otherwise. A second-quarter field goal drive took more than eight minutes off the clock, and they seem perfectly willing to play clutch-and-grab football. Their touchdown was on a Cam Newton fumble into the end zone which was recovered by Louis Murphy.