3 reasons for optimism as the Bears face the Panthers in Week 1 - Bears Wire
After winning the NFC North and getting to the divisional round of the playoffs last season, the Chicago Bears are ready to start their journey back to the playoffs with their season opener against the Carolina Panthers, who won the NFC South last season despite having a losing record.
The Bears offense promises to be one of the best in the league this season with playmakers all over the place including wide receivers Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and rookie Zavion Thomas who had an electric preseason debut. Chicago also arguably has the best tight end room in the NFL between Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet and rookie Sam Roush.
As the Bears look to start their season 1-0 for the first time under head coach Ben Johnson, here are three reasons for optimism against the Panthers.
Chicago will be looking to establish their run game early on between running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. While the defensive line for the Panthers is expected to be much better, they did struggle against the run last year, allowing the eighth-most rushing touchdowns out of any team in the NFL. Conversely, the Bears had one of the best running attacks in the league. Both Swift and Monangai topped 750 yards last year and the Bears were top five in rushing attempts, rushing yards and yards per attempt while also finishing in the top 10 in rushing touchdowns. Chicago should have no problem running the ball in this game, particularly later in the game since the Panthers lack depth on the defensive line and the Bears could really start to wear down their starters by the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. This will also open up their passing game and allow them to get some points on the board through the air as well.
Right now, the biggest concern for the Panthers is their running backs. Chuba Hubbard has never proven himself to be a reliable No. 1 back while Jonathon Brooks has been limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Even if he is able to play, he will not be at 100 percent which is a problem for Carolina’s rushing attack. If the Bears can shut down the run game, they can make Carolina’s offense one-dimensional and Bryce Young does not typically do well with that kind of pressure. That could help the pass rush and the secondary which already needs help with safety Xavier Woods popping up on the injury report Thursday. Shutting down the run game would go a long way toward securing a victory for Chicago.
No other team in the NFL is worse in the first week of the season than the Carolina Panthers. All-time, they have only won 35.5 percent of their season openers since coming into existence in 1995. They also have not won a season opener since 2021 when they defeated the New York Jets. There is just something about the Panthers that they are historically bad in the first game of the season and that happens to work in Chicago’s favor this season. Also, for what it's worth the Bears have won four of the last five matchups against the Panthers.
