When the Panthers and Bears meet Sunday in Carolina, the quarterback thread tying these teams together gives the matchup a little extra bite. The clubs effectively swapped No. 1 picks in 2023 and 2024, with Bryce Young ending up in Carolina and Caleb Williams going to Chicago. Both teams reached the playoffs last season on the back of a lot of close-game luck and late winners, and both are trying to prove that run was no one-off.
There are also enough roster similarities to make this a worthwhile early-season test on both sides of the ball. One of the biggest battles starts in the trenches, where Carolina’s defensive front will try to disrupt a Chicago offensive line that was outstanding a year ago.
The Bears owned the NFL’s best pass block win rate last season, according to ESPN, and most of that group is back. Darnell Wright, the first-round pick Chicago got in the Bryce Young trade, has become one of the league’s top right tackles.
Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney form a high-end guard pairing, and Braxton Jones is back at left tackle after missing time with injury last year. The only real change is at center, where Drew Dalman’s surprise retirement at 27 leaves Garrett Bradbury stepping in.
Bradbury, a Charlotte native, has been solid in his career, but not on Dalman’s level.
That’s where the Panthers need someone to tilt the field. Carolina’s pass rush has been short on disruption for a while, and the team ranked 24th in pass rush win rate last season before handing out big money to Jaelan Phillips.
He’ll have a tough assignment against that tackle group, which puts even more pressure on Derrick Brown to be the game-changer. Brown posted a career-high five sacks last season and is Carolina’s best interior force.
Most of his snaps should come against the guards, but he could find chances over Bradbury, who looks like the soft spot. Brown and rookie Lee Hunter will need to create some movement on early downs if Carolina wants to blunt Chicago’s edge in the trenches.
The other side of the matchup is just as intriguing. Chicago spent the offseason trying to fix a defense that helped force the offense into survival mode far too often last year, and the biggest changes came in the secondary.
But the Bears have already taken a hit there: cornerback Coby Bryant is out for the season with a knee injury. That leaves Tyrique Stevenson, of Commanders Hail Mary fame, as the No. 2 corner - the exact role Chicago was trying to upgrade.
Starting nickel Kyler Gordon is also sidelined, so Cam Lewis is set to fill that spot. At safety, rookie Dillon Thieneman and veteran Xavier Woods are the new pairing, and Panthers fans know Woods well.
Jaylon Johnson remains the headliner in that group and will make life difficult for whoever lines up against him. Beyond that, the Panthers should see chances.
The Bears’ coverage has a history of ugly busts, and that opens the door for Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker to hit on big plays. Carolina has to take advantage when those windows appear, and Bryce Young has to recognize them and push the ball downfield.
It’s a particularly important stage for Young. Sunday will be his fourth Week 1 start, and the first three have been rough: 49.5% completions, 4.4 yards per attempt, 153.7 yards per game, two touchdowns and six interceptions. The start of another season has not gone well for him yet, and with his future in Carolina hanging in the balance, he can’t afford another slow opening.
In Other News...
Panthers Pass Rush Takes An Early Hit Before Week 1
Pat Jones II wont be on the field when the Panthers open the 2026 season against the Bears, and that leaves an immediate hole in a pass rush that was counting on him to help set the tone. Dave Canales said the starting outside linebacker is dealing with a back injury, specifically an aggravation on the opposite side from the issue that sidelined him in 2025, a reminder that Carolina is already managing depth before the first snap counts.
Princely Umanmielen, Trevis Gipson and Thomas Incoom are the next names up, and their workloads figure to grow quickly with Jones unavailable. For a defense trying to come out of Week 1 with some early momentum, the bigger question now is how Carolina replaces Jones presence off the edge while keeping the rotation steady if this back issue lingers beyond the opener. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Face One Bryce Young Problem They Cant Hide
The Panthers are heading into 2026 with a rebuilt look up front, and Bryce Young will feel it immediately. Carolina is set to open the season with three new starters on the offensive line, plugging in Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Luke Fortner at center and rookie Monroe Freeling at right tackle while the team waits for a healthier picture to emerge on the edge. It is a lot of change at once for an offense that has spent enough time trying to settle in, and the timing is especially awkward with Taylor Moton expected to miss the early part of the year and Ikem Ekwonu unlikely to be available.
The bigger issue is not just who is starting, but who is behind them. Carolinas depth at tackle is thin, with Stone Forsythe the primary backup, which leaves little margin for error if injuries pile up or if the line simply takes time to gel. For Young, that means another season where the protection plan could be as important as the playbook, especially when the schedule brings stronger defenses and the Panthers need the pocket to hold up long enough for their quarterback to work. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Tight End Debate Just Got More Interesting Around Bryce Young
The Panthers tight end room has become one of the more interesting side stories around Bryce Young, especially after the team added Darren Waller as what looks like a short-term fix. It gives Carolina a veteran presence at a position that has been more about patchwork than long-term planning, and it also suggests the front office knows the group around Young still has room to grow as the offense keeps taking shape.
Even with Waller in place, the long view is already getting attention. A CBS Sports mock draft has Carolina taking LSU tight end TreyDez Green in the first round in 2027, a nod to how much his size, athleticism and red zone production have stood out in college. For the Panthers, it is another reminder that the answer at tight end may not be settled yet, even if the current stopgap helps bridge the gap. [Read more 🡒]