Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus met with reporters Friday afternoon to recap his team’s 16-13 victory against the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field.

Here are four things we learned.

1. Matt Eberflus said he gave the game ball from the win to the entire Bears defense.

Eberflus had compliments to hand around for a defensive effort that held the Panthers and rookie quarterback Bryce Young without an offensive touchdown.

He said linebacker T.J. Edwards, who had 12 tackles, “played really well” and noted a stat from Bears media relations said Edwards’ 112 tackles are the most of any player in team history through 10 weeks.

Eberflus noted the three sacks of Young by defensive linemen Yannick Ngakoue, Rasheem Green and Justin Jones. He said new defensive end Montez Sweat, who had eight quarterback pressures according to NextGen Stats, has shown “The Tez Factor,” in which the entire defense is better when Sweat plays.

“He’s helping our guys rush,” Eberflus said. “We’re rotating our guys a little bit better, keeping our guys fresh. That’s going to be important, because you want those rushers in the fourth quarter. The games are always going to be tight, and you want those guys at the end.”

Eberflus also called nickel Kyler Gordon “dynamic” after Gordon recorded eight tackles, two tackles for a loss and a pass defended. Eberflus said Gordon is a playmaker with good instincts, and he expects his production to get even better.

The Bears defense as a whole also needs to improve in getting after the ball after going without a takeaway for the second straight game.

“We’ve got to get more ball production by the entire defense,” Eberflus said. “That’s something that we need to work on and get better at. We certainly had opportunities yesterday. … We really have to seize those opportunities.”

2. The next update on Justin Fields’ thumb from Eberflus likely will have to wait until next week.

With 10 days until their next game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, Bears players have the weekend off from practices. They will have a walk-through Monday before resuming practices Wednesday.

Eberflus didn’t provide an update Thursday night or Friday on the status of Fields, who dislocated his right thumb on Oct. 15. Fields returned to practices Nov. 3 and has been limited in four practices or walk-throughs since.

Eberflus said Wednesday that Fields was not medically cleared to play in the Panthers game, setting up rookie Tyson Bagent to make his fourth straight start. He said Fields continues to work with trainers to see when he might return.

When asked Friday if Fields was pushing to play in that game, Eberflus said, “All the guys always push me to play”

“It’s always up to the trainers,” Eberflus said. “The trainers are the guys that make that decision, that clear those guys medically. When they do that, then we push them on the field and see where they are as coaches and then go from there.”

3. Kicker Cairo Santos made his 200th career field goal Thursday.

Santos made field goals from 54, 36 and 39 yards in the first half to bring his career total to 200 over 10 seasons.

His 54-yard field goal — 1 yard shy of his career long from 2020 — came after he made a 49-yard attempt that was negated because of a Cody Whitehair false-start penalty. Santos has made four attempts of 50-plus yards this season.

“Making that back to back like that really shows his growth,” Eberflus said. “And that his leg strength is improving in this part of his career is really, really cool.”

In his fourth full season with the Bears, Santos has made 15 of 16 field-goal attempts, his only miss coming last week against the New Orleans Saints. He has made 19 of 20 extra-point tries.

4. Wide receiver and kick returner Velus Jones Jr. was a healthy scratch against the Panthers.

Two days before the Panthers game, special teams coordinator Richard Hightower called Jones’ face-mask penalty on a punt against the Saints “unacceptable.”

With wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown back from injured reserve Thursday, the Bears then made Jones inactive.

“If somebody sits down because of penalty or inconsistent play and somebody comes up because they are more consistent, that’s where it is,” Eberflus said Friday. “We are always going to make the best decision for our roster to win the game.”

Jones has returned six kickoffs for 163 yards this season. Rookie Tyler Scott took over kickoff-return duties Thursday and had one for 24 yards.

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