Key injuries turn Carolina Panthers’ blowout loss to Bears from bad to much worse

There’s such a thing as a Pyrrhic victory.

Is there such a thing as a Pyrrhic loss?

The Carolina Panthers got crushed by the Chicago Bears, 36-10, on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field in Chicago. The visiting team gave up 30 unanswered points. Carolina’s offense looked rudderless under the command of veteran Andy Dalton and made struggling rookie Caleb Williams look like a shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Famer.

And yet, when all was said and done, the worst part of Sunday wasn’t the score or the team falling to 1-4 or the near-safety or the absent pass rush or the turnovers or the familiar futility felt among all Carolina fans who have weathered this seven-year storm.

It was the injuries. The piles of them.

“It hurts,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said when asked about the team’s injury situation. “It’s because the guys are playing so hard, and I think when you look at the injuries that we had today: These were contact injuries. Shoulders. Concussion. Triceps thing. These are impact injuries. This is a violent sport. And you always have those risks when you go into a game, you know, and I’d never hope that it would turn out like this.

“But just another challenge, and another opportunity for guys to step (up) that we’re counting on as we look at this week. We’ll have to evaluate everybody and get more information.”

The final injury report might spell difficulty the next few weeks for the Panthers, who next week take on an NFC South rival in the Atlanta Falcons. Those who left the game at some point Sunday and didn’t return include:

▪ Starting right tackle Taylor Moton. Moton earned his 100th straight start ahead of the Panthers’ season-opener this season. Per the Panthers, he’d played 6,758 straight snaps before entering Sunday’s game. An elbow injury stunted that streak. Yosh Nijman played in his stead.

▪ Starting center Austin Corbett. The anchor and leader of the offensive line — which just so happens to be the Panthers’ best unit at the moment — left the game with a biceps injury in the second half. His designation was doubtful; he never returned. Brady Christensen played in his stead.

Corbett emerged from the locker room postgame with a sling on his left shoulder and a wry smile: “Been through this before.” He was then asked if there was any season-ending concern — considering a similar injury ended the season early for Panthers swing tackle Brady Christensen last year. Corbett said he plans to get an MRI on Monday.

“That’s the thing about the biceps, too, is you don’t know,” Corbett said. “We’ll see how severe it is.”

▪ Starting wide receiver Xavier Legette. The rookie got hurt after getting hit after a catch. Rookie undrafted free agent Jalen Coker got his reps and turned in a career day: Four catches on four targets for 68 yards, including a 31-yard catch.

▪ Starting tight end Tommy Tremble. Tremble was evaluated for a concussion at halftime after a hit appeared to have robbed him of motor functions. He fumbled on the play. He was replaced by Feleipe Franks.

▪ Starting EDGE rusher Jadeveon Clowney. The high-profile free-agent signing hurt his shoulder after seeming to fold over a defender after Williams released the ball. The pass went for a big gain and Clowney stayed on the ground, slow to get up, an encapsulation of a bad-to-near-disaster day for the Panthers.

That’s … a lot — in players and in production to replace.

And it’s not like the Panthers had any room to breathe in the personnel department.

The Panthers entered the game with 52 players on the active roster after putting Shaq Thompson on the injured reserve list after the veteran linebacker tore his Achilles and the team confirmed the injury was season-ending. They had a whole bunch of other starter-caliber players injured, too. Cornerback Dane Jackson started practicing this week but wasn’t upgraded to the full roster; the coaching staff deemed him not ready. Same went for tight end Ian Thomas. Inside linebacker Josey Jewell was ruled out by Friday.

Before that: One of the team’s best offensive players, Adam Thielen, has been on IR since right after Week 3. And arguably the team’s best defensive player, defensive lineman Derrick Brown, has been out since the aftermath of Week 1 and will miss the rest of the season.

No one is hurting more than the offensive line. The only solution for that unit, as well as every other unit, is to invoke the “next man up” football battle cry.

It’s easier said than done.

“We gotta come and see what’s next,” said right guard Robert Hunt. “But we got some guys who can step up.”