Hester Makes History (Again); Chicago Bears Hold On to Defeat Carolina Panthers 34-29

After a third quarter scare, the Chicago Bears held off upstart rookie Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers 34-29. For a while, it appeared the Bears had no answer for slowing down or stopping the Newton-Smith hookup, or for stopping the explosive running game of the Panthers.

Ultimately, though, it was the Bears Running Game (which, apparently, they didn't put into storage for the winter) The offensive line showed the ability to run block like a big-kid team, and it showed in Forte's performance today.

Oh, and there's that little mark of Devin Hester taking the Punt Returns for TD record and making it his. But whatever.

If you're looking for the afternoon open thread, look no further than right HERE.

There were still some wtf moments, and Steven will have them in the Notes and Scribbles in the morning. Some quick hits for you:

Passing

Cam Newton (CAR) 27/46, 374 Yds, 1TD, 1INT

Jay Cutler (CHI) 9/17, 102 Yds, 0TD, 1INT

Rushing

Matt Forte (CHI) 25 Car, 205 Yds, 1TD (Long 46)
DeAngelo Williams (CAR) 10 Car, 82 YDS, 0 TD
Jonathan Stewart (CAR) 8 Car, 52 YDS
Marion Barber (CHI) 5 Car, 17 YDS, 1TD

Receiving

Steve Smith (CAR) 8 rec, 181 yards
Greg Olsen (CAR 5 rec, 50 yards, 1TD (garbage time)
J. Knox (CHI) 3 REC

There's still a lot to clean up in this game, but it was nice to see them fight for a whole game. Coming up next Monday--the Detroit Lions, who as of this writing are mounting a big comeback on the Cowboys.