The season is finally here.
All the months of waiting are over, and we finally get to see the Chicago Bears play football.
They open the season by traveling down to face the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.
It’s the first of seven teams they face that made the playoffs last season.
While Chicago goes in as the favorites, this is hardly a gimme. The Bears have real expectations in their second year under Ben Johnson.
Caleb Williams faces enormous pressure to build on the spectacular plays he made last season.
Chicago has spent decades going up-and-down, with short spurts of winning, followed by a lot of mediocrity and plenty more losing.
The expectation with Johnson and Williams is sustained success.
But Carolina is trying to build their way back to relevancy, too. Young had a much-improved third season, but questions remain about his status as a long-term solution at QB. Head coach Dave Canales led the Panthers to the postseason, but the team had a losing record in the worst division in the league.
Let’s dive into this matchup.
Carolina Panthers
SB Nation site: Cat Scratch Reader
Record: 0-0 (8-9 in 2025, first in NFC South)
Game day, time, TV: Sunday, noon, FOX
Spread: The Bears are favored by 3 points
Bears all-time record against: 9-4, including 0-1 postseason
Historical meetings: This is the earliest the teams have met in a season since week two of 2008.
The Bears traveled to Charlotte to meet the 1-0 Panthers.
Chicago struck first, taking a 10-3 halftime lead by way of Brandon Lloyd recovering a blocked punt and a Roobie Gould field goal.
In the third quarter, Jason McKie added a 1-yard TD.
But in the fourth, the Panthers got going, and Jonathan Stewart scored twice. The first came after Greg Olsen fumbled.
The second was set up by a 23-yard catch by current Bears assistant general manager Jeff King.
The Panthers won 20-17.
Last meeting: Week 5 during the 2024 season. The 2-2 Bears and 1-3 Panthers met at Soldier Field.
Rookie Caleb Williams showed out against Carolina, leading touchdown drives on four of their six first-half possessions. He threw two TDs to DJ Moore. DeAndre Swift and Roschon Johnson both scored, too.
The Panthers, meanwhile, turned the ball over on a fumble, downs and missed a field goal in the first half. In the third Andy Dalton was picked off by Kevin Byard.
And while they managed to get a field goal later in the third quarter, the damage was done.
Following Johnson’s second 1-yard touchdown of the game, making the score 36-10, the Panthers turned the offense back over to Bryce Young.
Injury report: The Panthers had three players on their Wednesday report.
Limited participation
- RB Jonathon Brooks (groin)
- DT Bobby Brown III (back)
Did not participate
- OLB Patrick Jones II (back)
Offense: The Panthers finished last season ranked 27th on offense in points and yards.
Their passing offense finished 26th, and their rushing offense finished 19th.
Bryce Young (63.6 pct. cmp./3,011 yds./23 TD/11 INT ) finished last season with respectable numbers and finally showed flashes of the talent that made him a first-overall pick. But he’s far from dominating or answering questions about his long-term status as a franchise quarterback.
Last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, Tetairoa McMillan (70 rec./1,014 yds./7 TD) is the number one weapon for the Panthers’ offense. Xavier Leggette (35/363/3), Jalen Coker (33/394/3) and Jimmy Horn Jr. (11/108/0) round out the receiving corps. They’ve added Young’s college teammate John Metchie III (73/686/3 in his career) this offseason.
TEs Tommy Tremble (27/249/2), Ja’Tavion Sanders (29/190/1) and Mitchell Evans (19/171/2) also get involved.
Chubba Hubbard (134/511/1) is relied on to be a big part of the offense. Hubbard (30/223/3) was fifth on the team in receptions.
The Panthers are expected to have former second-round pick Jonathon Brooks back from a torn ACL. They also signed AJ Dillon.
Defense: The Panthers defense finished 2025 ranked 15th in points allowed and 16th in yards allowed.
The passing defense ranked 26th, and the rushing defense ranked 20th.
Cornerbacks Mike Jackson (68 tkls/19 PD/4 INT/1 FF/4 TFL) and Jaycee Horn (37 tkls/8 PD/5 INT) are problems for opposing receivers. Jackson led the league in pass breakups.
Safeties Nick Scott (111 tkls/3 PD/1 INT) and Tre’von Moehrig (103 tkls/14 TFL/3 sk/2 PD/1 INT) also make a lot of plays.
Up front, DT Derrick Brown (5 sk/5 TFL/7 PD/1 FF) led the way in pass rush. The Panthers added Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter in the draft to add another weapon.
But Carolina lost their second-most sacks from 2025 with Nic Scrouton going out with an ACL in camp. And A’Shawn Robinson, D.J. Wonnum and Christian Rozeboom all moved on in free agency.
However, they also added LBs Jaelan Phillips (28 career sacks; 73 QB pressures in 2025) and Devin Lloyd (5 INT/81 TKL and a Pro-Bowl nod in 2025).
Key matchups: The Bears should have some advantages on the Panthers, but week one is always tricky.
The Panthers have a strong ground game, but have been battling offensive line injuries throughout the summer. It’s tough to say Chicago can win a battle on the defensive line side, but I think that’s the case.
And the Panthers added to the LBs in the offseason, but don’t have a ton of depth. Derrick Brown, Jalen Phillips and Devin Lloyd are the stars, but after them there is solid production but nothing eye-popping.
If Chicago can win in the trenches on both sides, it will go a long way in this game.
On the boundaries, Bears receivers will be facing one of the better corner duos in the league with Horn and Jackson.
Key stats
- Bryce Young and Caleb Williams each had six game-winning drives in 2025
- Williams was credited with six comebacks in 2025, while Young wasn’t far behind, with four.
- The Panthers were in 10 one-score games last season and went 7-3 in those games.
- Young is 14-11 against the spread at home. Last season, he was 6-2 as a home underdog ATS.
