Carolina defensive back Chris Gamble made three interceptions to lead the Panthers to a 31-13 rout of the Chicago Bears in the NFL opener for both teams.

Gamble's picks, which were three of five in the game that Bear's quarterback Jay Cutler threw, included two runbacks for touchdowns and earned him NFL defensive player of the week honors.

To use the word 'aweful' would be an understatement of how poorly Cutler performed. After starting the game on a promising 5-for-5 string of completions, Cutler was picked off deep in Panthers territory. By halftime, Cutler's numbers had tanked to 8-for-13, and three interceptions. He finished the game 15-for-26, 252 yards, one TD and 6 interceptions.

The game marked the debut of Alex Smith as the Panthers fulltime starting quarterback. Last season, when the Panthers gave up on Jake Delhomme late in the year, Smith took over and led Carolina to the postseason. Delhomme was released in the offseason after the Panthers failed to get any trade offers for the 13-year veteran (who eventually signed with the Texans).

Smith played a cautious game, averaging a mere 9 yards per pass and made only one mistake — an interception in the third quarter that the Bears converted into a touchdown. Smith finished 15-for-21, 190 yards, and no TD's. Newly acquired Byron Leftwich came in when the game was out of reach and took the snap for the Panther's final 11 plays.

Carolina's defense kept the Bears out of the endzone the first two quarters to take a 14-0 lead into halftime. It would not be until Cutler connected with Greg Olsen on a deep pass down the sideline for an 82-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7 with 7:24 left in the third quarter. But Carolina would pull away with a fieldgoal and Gamble's second interception touchdown return before the end of the quarter.

Jonathon Stewart added a 24-yard touchdown run to begin the scoring in the final quarter and stretched the Panther's lead to 31-7. Stewart finished the game with 113 yards rushing on 21 carries and caught 2 passes for 22 yards.

The game also marked a new beginning for the Panthers defense. The right end of the D-line did not have Jullius Peppers for the first time in nine seasons. Peppers was kept in Carolina with a franchise tag worth $16-million in 2010 and although he recorded 20 sacks, the Panthers chose not to spend another $16-million to keep him around for 2011. Peppers was signed as a free agent by the defending Super Bowl champions Dallas Cowboys.

In Peppers absence, Everette Brown (who played left end last season with 22 sacks) was moved to the right end position. In his debut at Pepper's spot, Brown failed to record a tackle or a sack. The Panthers see it as an experiment and all willing to move Everette back to his familar spot.

The Bears will get a break in week 2 when they travel to play the Oakland Raiders (0-1) who lost 12-7 to Cutler's prior team, Denver.

Carolina will host Tennesee (1-0) next week. The Titans are coming off a 2010 season in which they were one field goal away from a possible Super Bowl appearance, but a last-second interception by Kerry Collins blew the Titans opportunity to boot a game-tying fieldgoal against the Patriots in the AFC title game.