In a match-up between two Week One road winners, the Carolina Panthers defeated the Chicago Bears 20-17 at home. The Bears' special teams scored first while its offense managed to score just 10 points. TE Greg Olson fumbled deep in Panther territory late in the opening quarter and again deep in Bears territory in the 3rd period. This led directly to a Panthers' TD.
For the Bears, this looks like a team whose offense will not win games. With a strong defense and special teams play, the Bears could be in every game. As soon as the offense is needed, though, the game is over.
Despite an overall offense that won't win games, the Bears have a legitmate RB in rookie Matt Forte. He followed-up his great debut with 93 yards on 23 carries and three receptions for 21 more. As long as the defense/special teams keeps the games close, Forte is a solid RB2 each week.
The Panthers didn't throw the ball well (102 team passing yards) nor did it dominate rushing the ball (31 attempts for 114 yards), but the team made a change in the 2nd half that could have big fantasy implications. Rookie RB Jonathan Stewart became the workhorse in the second half scoring two TDs and rushing for 76 of his 77 yards.
Disappointingly, last week's fantasy surprise, TE Donte Rosario, did not follow-up with a good game statistically. He caught just one pass for six yards.
Fantasy Player To Watch: RB Jonathan Stewart