The NFL season is off and running. We got our first ever Wednesday night opener and we’re going to get our first ever game in Australia of all places on Thursday. The league will get back to normal on Sunday, and the Carolina Panthers will play host to the Chicago Bears when that happens.
These two teams share a link with one another that’s going to give meetings between them a little extra juice. The teams essentially swapped first overall picks in 2023 and 2024, resulting in Bryce Young landing in Carolina and Caleb Williams landing in Chicago. Both teams ascended to the playoffs last season but did so with lots of late winners and close game luck. Both are looking to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke and that they are going to be players when the postseason comes around in a few months.
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There are a fair few similarities in the roster constructions as well, and that makes for some interesting match-ups across both units. We’re going to look at one of those match-ups on each side of the ball.
The Panthers defensive front vs the Bears offensive line
The Bears had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL last season. According to ESPN’s pass block win rate statistic, the Bears were the best team in the league at protecting their quarterback, and they’re returning most of the key components from that unit. Darnell Wright, who the Bears picked with the first round pick they received in the Bryce Young draft, is one of the best right tackles in the league. Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney are an elite guard duo, while Braxton Jones will retake his starting left tackle spot that he vacated due to injury last year. The one exception is at center. Last year, Drew Dalman earned a Pro Bowl spot for his elite play at that spot, but he surprisingly retired this past offseason at age 27. They’re replacing him with Garrett Bradbury, a Charlotte native who has just been a serviceable center to this point in his career.
On the other side of the line is a Panthers front that has struggled to generate pressure for several seasons now. They ranked 24th in pass rush win rate last season, so they went out and spent big money on Jaelan Phillips to try to rectify that. He’ll have his hands full trying to make an impact against such a formidable tackle duo, so the real difference maker here might have to be Derrick Brown. He had a career high five sacks last season, and he’s the best interior presence the Panthers have. He’ll probably spend most of his time against the guards, but he should get some pass rush opportunities over Bradbury, who projects to be the weak point on this offensive line. He and rookie Lee Hunter on early downs will need to make some noise to mitigate the advantage the Bears offense has in the trenches.
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Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker vs the Bears secondary
The Bears overcame a brutal defense to make the playoffs last season, so they devoted their offseason to revamping that group. The biggest overhaul came in the secondary, but their big signing, cornerback Coby Bryant, is already out for the season with a knee injury. That leaves the Bears relying on Tyrique Stevenson (of Commanders Hail Mary fame) as their number two corner, which is exactly what they were trying to avoid by signing Bryant. Starting nickel Kyler Gordon is also out, leaving the Bears to rely on Cam Lewis to start in that spot. Their new starting safety duo is rookie Dillon Thieneman and veteran Xavier Woods, who Panthers fans should be familiar with.
Jaylon Johnson is very good, so he’ll give problems to whoever is lined up across from him. Any other receiver on the field should be expected to have success. The unit has a reputation for catastrophic breakdowns in coverage, which should open up big play opportunities for McMillan and Coker. They need to capitalize on those opportunities and find the space provided to them, and quarterback Bryce Young needs to find those breakdowns in coverage and make some throws down the field.
Bryce Young vs Week 1
This will be Young’s fourth Week 1. In his first three, he completed 49.5% of his passes for 4.4 yards per attempt (153.7 yards per game) with two touchdowns and six interceptions. It’s been nothing but bad. He’s entering a make or break year as it pertains to his future in Carolina. He can’t afford to start off so poorly once again.
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