Chicago Bears vs. Carolina Panthers: 2020 Week 6 Recap

Game story

In Week 6 of the 2020 NFL season on 2020-10-18, the Chicago Bears took care of business against the Carolina Panthers, pulling away with a 23–16 final that stayed a one-score game deep into the second half.

The highest-scoring period was Q4 with 13 combined points — the stretch that most shaped the final margin.

T. Bridgewater (Carolina Panthers) paced the passing game, with -3.06 total EPA, and -6.6% completion percentage over expected.

On the individual side, N. Foles (Chicago Bears) delivered the top overall EPA impact at +4.15 — the clearest player-of-the-game signal on the analytics sheet.

The momentum swing (-11.5% win probability) landed in the fourth quarter when Carolina Panthers changed the game: (2:00) (Shotgun) 5-T.Bridgewater pass incomplete deep left to 12-D.Moore.

Line score

Final score and points by quarter.

Stars of the game

Top performers by total expected points added (EPA) across passing, rushing, and receiving.

1. 1 N. Foles · Chicago Bears · Passing · +4.15 total EPA · 41 snaps · +0.10 EPA/play
2. 2 C. Kmet · Chicago Bears · Receiving · +3.79 total EPA · 2 snaps · +1.89 EPA/play
3. 3 R. Anderson · Carolina Panthers · Receiving · +3.44 total EPA · 5 snaps · +0.69 EPA/play
4. 4 D. Mooney · Chicago Bears · Receiving · +2.40 total EPA · 5 snaps · +0.48 EPA/play
5. 5 A. Robinson · Chicago Bears · Receiving · +1.90 total EPA · 9 snaps · +0.21 EPA/play
6. 6 C. Patterson · Chicago Bears · Receiving · +1.55 total EPA · 1 snaps · +1.55 EPA/play
7. 7 T. Cannon · Carolina Panthers · Receiving · +0.74 total EPA · 2 snaps · +0.37 EPA/play
8. 8 J. Graham · Chicago Bears · Receiving · +0.51 total EPA · 8 snaps · +0.06 EPA/play

Player of the game

FantasyHQ analytics player-of-the-game pick based on total EPA and signature plays.

Who scored touchdowns and field goals

Every touchdown and field goal with the player named in official play-by-play.

Touchdowns

• Chicago Bears — C. Kmet (N. Foles pass) (Q1 56:46)
• Chicago Bears — N. Foles (Q3 16:47)
• Carolina Panthers — M. Davis (Q4 13:15)

Field goals

• Carolina Panthers — J. Slye (Q1 50:11)
• Chicago Bears — C. Santos (Q2 38:12)
• Carolina Panthers — J. Slye (Q2 32:03)
• Chicago Bears — C. Santos (Q2 30:07)
• Chicago Bears — C. Santos (Q4 9:23)
• Carolina Panthers — J. Slye (Q4 7:51)

How it unfolded, quarter by quarter

A quarter-by-quarter recap built from live scoring plays and play descriptions.

The opening quarter: Chicago Bears won the period 7–3. Chicago Bears found the end zone from the CAR 9 (Q1 56:46) — (11:46) (Shotgun) 9-N.Foles pass short middle to 85-C.Kmet for 9 yards, TOUCHDOWN.; Chicago Bears added 1 points from the CAR 15 (Q1 56:40) — 2-C.Santos extra point is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.; Carolina Panthers connected on a field goal from the CHI 3 (Q1 50:11) — (5:11) 4-J.Slye 21 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton..

The second quarter: Chicago Bears won the period 6–3. Chicago Bears connected on a field goal from the CAR 13 (Q2 38:12) — (8:12) 2-C.Santos 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.; Carolina Panthers connected on a field goal from the CHI 2 (Q2 32:03) — (2:03) 4-J.Slye 20 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton.; Chicago Bears connected on a field goal from the CAR 37 (Q2 30:07) — (:07) 2-C.Santos 55 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell..

The third quarter: Chicago Bears won the period 7–0. Chicago Bears found the end zone from the CAR 1 (Q3 16:47) — (1:47) 9-N.Foles up the middle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.; Chicago Bears added 1 points from the CAR 15 (Q3 16:44) — 2-C.Santos extra point is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell..

The fourth quarter: Carolina Panthers won the period 10–3. Carolina Panthers found the end zone from the CHI 1 (Q4 13:15) — (13:15) 28-M.Davis up the middle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.; Carolina Panthers added 1 points from the CHI 15 (Q4 13:11) — 4-J.Slye extra point is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton.; Chicago Bears connected on a field goal from the CAR 13 (Q4 9:23) — (9:23) 2-C.Santos 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.; Carolina Panthers connected on a field goal from the CHI 30 (Q4 7:51) — (7:51) 4-J.Slye 48 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton..

Turning points

Plays that moved win probability the most — the swings that decided the game.

• Carolina Panthers (Q4 2:00) — (2:00) (Shotgun) 5-T.Bridgewater pass incomplete deep left to 12-D.Moore. [WPA -11.5% · EPA -2.40]
• Carolina Panthers (Q3 25:20) — (10:20) (Shotgun) 28-M.Davis right tackle to CAR 31 for 1 yard (39-E.Jackson). FUMBLES (39-E.Jackson), RECOVERED by CHI-96-A.Hicks at CAR 26. 96-A.Hicks to CAR 22 for 4 yards (72-T.Moton). [WPA -11.0% · EPA -6.22]
• Chicago Bears (Q1 56:46) — (11:46) (Shotgun) 9-N.Foles pass short middle to 85-C.Kmet for 9 yards, TOUCHDOWN. [WPA +10.5% · EPA +3.13]
• Carolina Panthers (Q3 21:19) — (6:19) 4-J.Slye 54 yard field goal is No Good, Wide Right, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton. [WPA -10.4% · EPA -2.63]
• Carolina Panthers (Q1 58:25) — (13:25) (Shotgun) 5-T.Bridgewater pass short left intended for 11-R.Anderson INTERCEPTED by 38-Ta.Gipson (33-J.Johnson) at CAR 16. 38-Ta.Gipson pushed ob at CAR 7 for 9 yards (28-M.Davis). [WPA -10.3% · EPA -3.36]

Impact plays

Highest expected-points added snaps that flipped field position and scoring chances.

• Carolina Panthers (Q3 25:20) — (10:20) (Shotgun) 28-M.Davis right tackle to CAR 31 for 1 yard (39-E.Jackson). FUMBLES (39-E.Jackson), RECOVERED by CHI-96-A.Hicks at CAR 26. 96-A.Hicks to CAR 22 for 4 yards (72-T.Moton). [WPA -11.0% · EPA -6.22]
• Chicago Bears (Q3 25:13) — (10:13) 9-N.Foles pass short right intended for 86-D.Harris INTERCEPTED by 21-J.Chinn [95-D.Brown] at CAR 9. 21-J.Chinn to CAR 9 for no gain (86-D.Harris). [WPA -9.1% · EPA -4.80]
• Chicago Bears (Q4 10:48) — (10:48) (Shotgun) 9-N.Foles pass deep middle to 12-A.Robinson to CAR 26 for 23 yards (42-S.Franklin) [94-E.Obada]. PENALTY on CAR-94-E.Obada, Roughing the Passer, 13 yards, enforced at CAR 26. [WPA +6.7% · EPA +3.69]
• Carolina Panthers (Q4 1:32) — (1:32) (Shotgun) 5-T.Bridgewater pass short middle intended for 12-D.Moore INTERCEPTED by 36-D.Houston-Carson at CAR 35. 36-D.Houston-Carson to CAR 35 for no gain. [WPA -9.1% · EPA -3.45]

Quarterback report card

T.Bridgewater led all passers in efficiency for Carolina Panthers, setting the tone in the passing game according to FantasyHQ analytics.

• T.Bridgewater (Carolina Panthers) · 44 dropbacks · 36.4% completion · -6.6% CPOE · -0.07 EPA/play · -3.06 total EPA
• N.Foles (Chicago Bears) · 41 dropbacks · 56.1% completion · -3.2% CPOE · +0.10 EPA/play · +4.15 total EPA

Team stats comparison

Side-by-side offensive and defensive efficiency from FantasyHQ analytics.

By the numbers

Despite the final score, Chicago Bears generated the better offensive EPA per play (-0.01 vs -0.12), suggesting they moved the ball more efficiently.

• Carolina Panthers: 11 drives, -10.02 total EPA, 4 scoring drives
• Chicago Bears: 11 drives, -1.22 total EPA, 5 scoring drives

Key takeaways

What to remember for fantasy research, film review, and follow-up box score digging.

• Chicago Bears leaves with the win and the better postgame narrative for Week-to-week momentum.
• One-score margin — fantasy managers should double-check garbage-time stats before drawing conclusions.
• N. Foles (Chicago Bears) is the first name to pull up for highlight reels and prop-retrospective research.
• T. Bridgewater (CAR) finished below expected efficiency — volume may have masked accuracy issues.
• N. Foles (CHI) finished below expected efficiency — volume may have masked accuracy issues.

Every scoring play

Chronological scoring with field position and full play-by-play context.

1. Chicago Bears TD (+6) — Q1 56:46 · CAR 9 · Score 6-0
   (11:46) (Shotgun) 9-N.Foles pass short middle to 85-C.Kmet for 9 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
2. Chicago Bears XP (+1) — Q1 56:40 · CAR 15 · Score 7-0
   2-C.Santos extra point is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.
3. Carolina Panthers FG (+3) — Q1 50:11 · CHI 3 · Score 7-3
   (5:11) 4-J.Slye 21 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton.
4. Chicago Bears FG (+3) — Q2 38:12 · CAR 13 · Score 10-3
   (8:12) 2-C.Santos 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.
5. Carolina Panthers FG (+3) — Q2 32:03 · CHI 2 · Score 10-6
   (2:03) 4-J.Slye 20 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton.
6. Chicago Bears FG (+3) — Q2 30:07 · CAR 37 · Score 13-6
   (:07) 2-C.Santos 55 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.
7. Chicago Bears TD (+6) — Q3 16:47 · CAR 1 · Score 19-6
   (1:47) 9-N.Foles up the middle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.
8. Chicago Bears XP (+1) — Q3 16:44 · CAR 15 · Score 20-6
   2-C.Santos extra point is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.
9. Carolina Panthers TD (+6) — Q4 13:15 · CHI 1 · Score 20-12
   (13:15) 28-M.Davis up the middle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.
10. Carolina Panthers XP (+1) — Q4 13:11 · CHI 15 · Score 20-13
    4-J.Slye extra point is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton.
11. Chicago Bears FG (+3) — Q4 9:23 · CAR 13 · Score 23-13
    (9:23) 2-C.Santos 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-48-P.Scales, Holder-16-P.O'Donnell.
12. Carolina Panthers FG (+3) — Q4 7:51 · CHI 30 · Score 23-16
    (7:51) 4-J.Slye 48 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.Jansen, Holder-3-J.Charlton.