CHARLOTTE — Derrick Brown is a passionate guy. Emotion and fire are par for the course with the Carolina Panthers defensive captain, who has always taken it upon himself to be a leader for this entire team.

But Sunday was a different Derrick Brown.

He stood tall and unhidden next to his locker after the Panthers fell to the Bears 59-37, taking blame for the things directly tied to his missteps, and even those beyond what he could control.

"With my personal play, I made a lot of mistakes today," said Brown afterward, both disgust and resolution ringing in his voice. "Not normal, won't happen again, and, as I said, I told these guys in here I'm accountable to each and every single one of them.

"We get ready to go out here. Work all week and two bonehead plays like that that give us bad situations where they put 14 up on the board, you can't have it."

Granted, 14 points when 59 were scored overall can feel like a drop in the bucket. But all 11 of the Panthers' penalties on Sunday felt like daggers (the Bears had 12, but the Panthers had an 84-57 yardage edge).

"The penalty thing was about even," noted coach Dave Canales. "It was the timeliness of when those things happened, the choices that were made in some of the situations to extend their drives, just giving them a little bit of extra time, and an offense that was really balanced and was able to find the run game today for sure and then, finding some explosive plays down the field."

And that was the case with Brown's two penalties. The first came when the Bears faced a second-and-20 from the Panthers' 21-yard line. At this point, the score was tied at 31, and the Panthers defense had been getting better pressure on Williams throughout the third quarter.

Princely Umanmielen helped flush Williams from the pocket, where the Bears quarterback made most of his magic happen on Sunday. Still, on this play, it looked like Carolina's rush got to him. He threw the ball away to save the sack, and it looked to set up third-and-20, with the flustered passer.

Instead, a flag hit the ground. Roughing the passer on Derrick Brown.

"I thought I was within one step," explained Brown before continuing, "but I mean, as I said, it was a bonehead move. Shouldn't have done it."

Three plays later, the Bears scored, making it 38-31.

The second came in the fourth quarter. The Bears, after capitalizing on a turnover on downs and a straight turnover (fumble), were up by two touchdowns and looking to add another. They were in a good spot to do so, on the Panthers' 1-yard line, after stopping Caleb Williams short on a quarterback run the previous play.

On second-and-goal, Williams dropped back to pass. Bobby Brown III was in place and waiting. The ball was tipped, and Bobby Brown snatched it out of the air for a turnover that was crucial if the Panthers had any hope of a comeback. Before he could even begin to celebrate, though, another flag came flying.

Neutral zone infraction on Derrick Brown.

"Being offsides shouldn't happen," spat Brown (Derrick). "A lot of good things we did today. Differences like that, s--- like that can't happen.

"Should have looked down there, seen I was too far over. Bobby's pick should have counted. We should have been off the field twice."

Brown hasn't had two penalties in a game since Week 9 of his rookie season in 2020. Conjecture would point to the sheer number of penalties called on Sunday overall, on both teams. But those are excuses for which Brown has no time as he looks to get himself and his team back on track.

"We had a lot of young guys, had a lot of execution. There were moments where we played good there when we settled in. Stupid penalties here and there, giving the momentum back," said Brown. "Should have been off the field, should have a turnover on the second one, and I think it's things like that. I take full accountability for that.

"I'm not running from nobody or anybody about that. So I mean, I'm going to go back to work, and I'm going to keep being who I am."

Brown, a three-time defensive captain, made sure to take accountability with his teammates as well. He apologized afterward, promising not to let it happen again.

"I definitely talked to the defense about it. I'm going to be a leader on this team," vowed Brown. "I don't really give a s--- what nobody else says outside of these walls, and I'm never going to change who I am for nobody. So these guys know what I'm about.

"They know what I'm capable of, and every single day when I show up here and I go to work, they're going to get the best version of me.

His apology was well received but also unnecessary, according to his teammates.

"We all have to take responsibility. DB is not responsible for the loss," said outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips. "It's great that he has that leadership mindset where he's willing to take accountability for his part in it, but we all have to do that: me, everybody. I'm not going to call guys out; realistically, it's all of us. We all could have executed better, could have done things differently, but, yeah, I think that's a positive note because ultimately that's what you have to have.

"You have to be accountable, and you have to have a growth mindset."

And as their leader, even if not needed, Derrick Brown refused to pass the buck on his part in the loss. Passionate as ever, he stood at his locker afterward, looking at the rest of the season and promising to be the player he knows he can be, the one his team needs, moving forward.

"They're still going to get (me). I had two boneheaded mistakes, but make no mistake about it, you're going to get the best version of me," said Brown. "I hang my hat on it. I'm accountable to these guys in here.  And nothing I can do about it now, but going forward, it won't happen again.

"It sucks, but it's one game. We got a whole season. I'm not going to sit here and hit the panic button in front of nobody. I still got faith in every single man in this room. I'm not going to sit here and do that. I've been down and out before, and I'm going to tell you this: I will hang it on me for those two touchdowns that they got, for those two stupid-a-- penalties on me, but I'll tell you what, we're going to get here and go back to work this week.

"I'll live with it today because I have to. But when we're here to go back to work tomorrow, it's over."