Carolina Panthers WR Jalen Coker suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.
Carolina Panthers WR Jalen Coker had a terrific Week 1 outing against the Chicago Bears.
Coker had eight catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
However, the Panthers lost to the Bears by 22 points (59-37) and Coker also sprained his left ankle.
A day after the game, Coker was seen in a walking boot, but he told reporters that it was just precautionary.
Coker is the first Panther with at least 135 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions in a game since Steve Smith back in 2011. While the talented playmaker is happy about how he played against the Bears, he wanted to get the win.
"Yeah, I mean, personally it's great," Coker said. "But you know, I want to win. I think we're going to stay tight as a unit. I think we're just going to continue to build that connection and everything we do, we do together, and no one's going to raise their hand and say I did it. It's going to be a team collective effort, so we're going to continue to do that."
The Panthers likely would have won this game had they not faced Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense. Carolina scored 37 points and put up 478 total yards: 353 passing yards and 125 rushing yards.
The good news is that Bryce Young looked like a franchise QB against the Bears. He finished with 361 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.
"I think we're going to have to watch the film. I think we did a lot of good things though," Coker said. "I felt like we caught the ball well, rushed well, you know, I think it's just small things, small basic things that we need to work on, and we'll work on that tomorrow."
The Panthers face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. Atlanta lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.
The last time the Falcons hosted the Panthers, Coker pulled in four catches for 52 yards, while Young had a career day with 448 yards passing.
