Bears fall to 1-1 after taking 17-3 lead in third quarter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Whether it was the heat, the humidity, the penalties, the turnovers, the play-calling or the execution, the Bears let a big one get away.

They brought the Panthers' offense almost to a standstill for most of Sunday's game, they scored after blocking a punt, created another touchdown after a takeaway and benefited from having a Carolina touchdown called back because of a penalty.

And still the Bears found a way to blow it in a 20-17 come-from-ahead loss.

On a day that began with Bears domination but ended in frustration there were several irritants that stood out.

"The most frustrating part is that it was in our hands as a defense, and we didn't get the job done," said nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek, who was instrumental in holding the Panthers to 216 total yards.

"We had a lead in the fourth quarter and we lost."

But it was mostly the defense that was responsible for the Bears having the lead most of the afternoon in front of 73,828 at steamy Bank of America Stadium, where the temperature at kickoff was 88 degrees with 78 percent humidity.

After former Bear Muhsin Muhammad produced the Panthers' biggest play of the day early in the third quarter with a 33-yard reception on which he appeared to hip check Nate Vasher while the ball was in the air, the Bears' defense came up with its biggest play.

Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme appeared to have completed a first-down pass to tight end Jeff King, but safety Kevin Payne jostled the ball loose before King had possession.

Cornerback Charles Tillman picked it out of the air for an interception and then tacked on a 23-yard run. Four plays later the Bears went up 17-3 on fullback Jason McKie's 1-yard run following a 13-yard completion to Brandon Lloyd.

The Panthers responded with John Kasay's 45-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the third quarter. The Bears' 17-6 lead still appeared safe in the hands of a defense that allowed Carolina just 47 first-half yards.

But it went downhill in a hurry after that.

Tight end Greg Olsen lost his second fumble of the game when another former Bear, safety Chris Harris, punched the ball loose after a 9-yard reception. Harris led the NFL with 9 forced fumbles last season.

Chris Gamble recovered for the Panthers, and rookie running back Jonathan Stewart overpowered Bears tacklers on 4 carries, the last of which went for a 4-yard TD to bring Carolina within 17-13 with 2:18 left in the third quarter.

The suddenly ineffective Bears offense went three-and-out, and over the final 24 minutes and 23 seconds, the offense managed 1 first down.

The defense held for a while, allowing just 1 Panthers first down on the next two possessions, but Delhomme's 23-yard pass to tight end Jeff King set up Stewart's 1-yard TD run that completed the scoring and gave the Panthers their only lead of the day with 3:52 remaining.

"We felt like we needed one big drive to put the game away," Bears quarterback Kyle Orton said. "We had chances the entire game to put the game away, (but) when the time came we didn't make the plays and they did."

The Bears went three-and-out again, but the defense got the ball back with 2:24 left, and the offense looked poised to at least tie it when rookie Matt Forte picked up 9 yards to midfield on first down.

But Orton (19 of 32 for 149 yards and a 71.0 passer rating) threw low to Rashied Davis on a short crossing route and almost got picked off when he tried a quickout on third down to Marty Booker.

On fourth-and-1, rather than give Forte (92 yards on 23 carries) the ball, the Bears handed it to McKie, who was engulfed by several Panthers at the line of scrimmage.

Forte said he would have welcomed the final opportunity.

"I want the ball every play," he said. "I want the ball on tight situations when it's fourth-and-1 or when it's first-and-10. I want the ball all the time so I can make a play."

The third-down pass was supposed to be a run, but Orton had the option of switching to a pass. He probably chose the wrong option.

"We had a run play called, (but) I thought I could kick it out to a wide receiver to get the first down," Orton said. "I probably should have just handed the ball off. It wasn't an audible; it was just something at the line of scrimmage that we do."

Or don't do.

After McKie was stuffed, and with the Bears out of timeouts, three Delhomme kneel-downs ended the game and left the Bears at 1-1 and the Panthers at 2-0.

"Whenever you have control of a game like that, you've got to be able to finish," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "It's about finishing the game."