Free agency, an NFL Draft, training camp, the preseason, and eight months later, we’re finally about to witness Carolina Panthers football. The Panthers were gifted a matchup with the Chicago Bears this weekend, which is interesting for many reasons.
One on hand, seeing the Bears is a blessing. Chicago is a well-coached team that offers a good challenge, and gives fans the chance to have a leg up on social media if the team pulls off a win.
On the other hand, this matchup could be a curse for the same reasons. Like Carolina, Chicago won their division last season, have one of the best coaches in the game to plan against, and were the other team in the famed Bryce Young trade from 2023.
All of this combined gives the Panthers and their fans multiple reasons to try and get a Week One win for the first time since 2021.
Chicago has long been a thorn in the side of the Panthers (4-9 against the Bears all time), but fortunately for Carolina, the Panthers are 3-2 when hosting the Bears in Charlotte.
With an opportunity to beat Chicago for the first time since 2014, let’s take a look at some of the key matchups the Panthers will have to win on Sunday in Bank of America Stadium.
Keys to Victory
1) Keep Pounding the rock
One of the more negative hallmarks of the Canales era in Carolina has been the lack of a creative and effective run game. Aside from two games where Rico Dowdle played his career-best, the run game has been very poor over the last few seasons.
In contrast, Ben Johnson’s run games in both Detroit and Chicago have been among the league’s best. It is imperative in Week One that the Panthers are able to match Chicago’s effectiveness when running the ball.
Last season, when Chicago faced opponents who ran the ball 25 or more times, they earned a 4-5 record, with the four wins (LV, WAS, PIT, GB) all being decided by one score.
Sure, teams that run the ball more tend to be running the clock out at the end of games, but Chicago’s defensive front also isn’t particularly a stout group.
Currently, the team has Montez Sweat, Grady Jarrett, Kentavius Street, and Dayo Odeyingbo slated to start - not the most imposing group. The back seven of the defense, particularly the defensive backs, have also had to shuffle already due to injury.
Leaning on a healthy Chuba Hubbard, the ground-and-pound ability of someone like AJ Dillon, and the potential explosive ability of Jonathon Brooks should provide Carolina a nice way into the game to generate offensive rhythm and wear down the Bears on defense.
2) Test the new defensive backs
Having a healthy run game does wonders for an offense. Not only does it wear down defensive players, but it can also draw players closer to the line of scrimmage, opening up new deep passing lanes.
Last season, Bryce Young graded out as the best deep passer in the entire league according to Pro Football Focus. The problem with this is that Young barely attempted deep passes.
A good portion of the lack of deep passes were schematic blunders, but Young also needs to be more willing to trust his receivers down the field. Fortunately, there was an uptick in both deep pass attempts and completions as the season progressed, so hopefully the trend of throwing it deep can continue early in Week One.
Having a fully healthy Jalen Coker helps a ton in this department. The Young/Coker connection really began to thrive in earnest toward the end of last season, with Coker exploding for 134 yards and a touchdown in Carolina’s playoff game against LA.
This week, not only will Carolina have a pretty favorable defensive front to face, but the Chicago secondary should grant guys like Coker and Tetairoa McMillan an advantage as well.
The Chicago Bears defense that led the NFL in takeaways last year is gone. Currently, Chicago is expected to rely upon free agents such as Cam Lewis, Xavier Woods (a name Panther fans know well), and rookie first round pick Dillon Thieneman.
If Carolina can take advantage of favorable matchups against the Bears, both in the run and the deep pass games, the Cardiac Cats might be able to run up the score.
3) Put pressure on Caleb Williams
Out of every position group Chicago deployed last season, their offensive line was far and away the best unit. The Bears OL paved massive running lanes for guys like D’Andre Swift, and the number of sacks Williams had to avoid plummeted compared to his rookie season.
Unfortunately for Chicago, the group they put out last year is much different from who the team is expected to start in Charlotte.
To start, star center Drew Dalman, whom the Bears paid handsomely in free agency in 2025, chose to retire earlier this past offseason, prompting the Bears to trade for former N.C. State center Garrett Bradbury, who, to put politely, is a significant downgrade.
Second-year left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, a player Chicago was expected to start this season, is still recovering from the ruptured patellar tendon suffered in Chicago’s playoff game against Green Bay. Braxton Jones will be filling in for him in Week One.
Why this matters for Carolina, is that Caleb Williams is one of the best players at avoiding sacks in the NFL. What he does from clean pockets, however, is much better than what he is able to produce from under pressure.
Given the injuries to one of Chicago’s greatest strengths from a year ago, the Carolina defense has to take advantage and put pressure on Williams throughout this game. This is where the addition of players like Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd must shine.
With Pat Jones (back) expected to miss Week One, Princely Umanmielen will have a chance to step up as well. Phillips called Umanmielen the team’s “best pass-rusher” earlier this offseason, and he will have a chance to earn that claim against the Bears this weekend.
4) Have a fast start
Everyone knows that Bryce Young is currently the king of the 4th quarter in the NFL. While this is very impressive, having to win via comebacks instead of putting games away isn’t something incredibly sustainable.
Fast starts have been a topic of discussion all offseason, from Dave Canales and Brad Idzik to Panthers Owner David Tepper answering questions about it during practice.
Last season, the Panthers were 7-3 when scoring on the opening drive. Being able to score early and control the pace of the game will be paramount against a creative coach that wants to push the ball down the field.
Not only are fast starts the focus in games, but across the last four seasons, Carolina hasn’t recorded a win in the first two weeks. A win this week would change things for the better.
The path for the Panthers to pull off the upset is in place. It’s up to the players and coaches to take advantage of it in order to have a positive record after Week One for the first time since 2021.