Numbers show how Bears' offense struggled in second half

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On paper, it looks like Matt Forte had a big game against the Panthers on Sunday in the Bears' 31-24 defeat.

Forte caught a career-best 12 passes for 105 yards and rushed 17 times for 61 yards, giving him 166 yards from scrimmage.

But he lost a fumble at his own 23-yard line late in the fourth quarter in a tie game, and he picked up the majority of his receiving yards on a 56-yard screen pass that got the Bears to the Panthers' 24-yard line late in the first half but didn't result in any points.

Forte's other 11 receptions accounted for 49 yards as the Panthers limited the Bears' big plays after halftime.

"Early we were catching them in man (-to-man) and hitting them with some screens," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "Then they started zoning us out from there on out."

Cutler threw for 180 yards in the first half but only 109 after that.

"Jay had to check it down a few times and go inside," said Bears coach Marc Trestman. "We thought we had some balance in the first half, but we lost a little bit of that balance and came up short a few times."

Doing it all:

After a career day against the Packers in Week 4 (134 yards on 9 catches), tight end Martellus Bennett had just 3 receptions for 17 yards against the Panthers.

"I don't think they were keying on me, I just had to block a lot today," said Bennett who was asked to provide some pass-protection help for fill-in left tackle Michael Ola, who subbed for injured starter Jermon Bushrod. "Bushrod's out, so I end up chipping a lot more this game and helping out the tackles and staying in on protection and doing things like that.

"I felt like I blocked well today. You know I'm a classic tight end. I can do stuff like that. I can't always catch 20 balls. some weeks I have to block a lot more and they were getting a lot of pressure, so I had to chip and help out on those guys."

Nothing personal:

Former Bear tight end Greg Olsen did most of the damage for the Panthers against his old team, with touchdown receptions of 9 and 6 yards - including the game-winner -among his 6 receptions for 72 yards.

"I said all week it wasn't about me personally, it wasn't about my history with them, or about them getting rid of me, and it really wasn't," said Olsen who was drafted by the Bears in the first round in 2007 but traded to the Panthers after the 2010 season. "I've moved past that. I don't hold any grudges. I don't wish I could go back in time and undo it.

"I'm here for a reason, and I wouldn't trade being on this team or being in this city for anywhere, and I've said that from the beginning. It was nice to see some familiar faces after the game and catch up for a couple of minutes with some guys, but this was about the Panthers getting a win."

A bit too much:

Special teams continued to be a sore spot.

Pat O'Donnell's first punt, a booming, 63-yarder, was about to be fielded by Carolina's Philly Brown, but the Bears' Teddy Williams, signed the previous Wednesday for his special teams acumen, drilled Brown just before he could make the catch.

As the ball rolled loose, Brown scooped it up and went 79 yards for a touchdown for the first score of the game.

"I was hit slightly early, and I popped up looking for a flag," Brown said. "Everything was going on out in front of me, and I looked down and the ball was right there."

Williams was flagged for the premature hit, but the penalty yardage was added to the ensuing kickoff.

"He was excited to play, trying to do something good," Bears coach Marc Trestman said of the overeager Williams. "He got a little bit outside himself, and that's certainly not something we're looking to do."

Sitting it out:

The Bears' inactives were offensive tackles Jermon Bushrod (knee / ankle) and Charles Leno, center Roberto Garza (ankle), defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff (concussion), linebacker Shea McClellin (broken hand), safety Ahmad Dixon (hamstring), cornerback Sherrick McManis (quad).

Michael Ola, who started the three previous games at left guard in place of Matt Slauson (ankle), moved out to left tackle in place of Bushrod (knee/ankle). Slauson started for the first time since the season opener.

"I was good enough to play," Slauson said, "but I wasn't as good as I wanted to be."