The Carolina Panthers dropped their season opener Sunday, falling 59-37 to the Chicago Bears at home.
Despite some positive moments on offense, Panthers head coach Dave Canales pointed to turnovers and penalties as key factors in the loss.
Canales said the team's turnovers alone did not account for all of the Bears' points, but added that Carolina extended drives with penalties and gave a strong Chicago offense too many additional opportunities.
"What I do know is 17 points off turnovers doesn't equal 59 points, and we could have helped that. We could have not extended drives with penalties," Canales said. "There were some things that we gave a really good offense more opportunities. They don't need any more opportunities. They were creating their own, and that's something that collectively we have to make sure we take care of."
The loss leaves the Panthers at 0-1 to begin the season.
There was one bit of good news for Carolina: every other team in the NFC South also lost on Sunday.
The Panthers return to action Sunday when they travel to face the Atlanta Falcons. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
