The Bears are finally back, and Week 1 sends them on the road to Carolina for a matchup that looks manageable on paper. But opener games have a way of turning tidy projections into messy afternoons, and the Panthers have enough talent in the building to make Chicago earn it.
That starts with Tetairoa McMillian, the player who sits at the top of the list of Carolina threats. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year says he’s 20 pounds heavier than he was at this time last year, and at 6-foot-5, 212 pounds, he was hardly light to begin with. Dave Canales has also said McMillian will work more from the slot this season, and that showed up in the preseason, where nine of his 22 snaps came there.
McMillian figures to see plenty of Jaylon Johnson on Sunday. Johnson spent time on both sides of the formation before last season, when lower-body injuries clearly affected how he was used, so he may travel with McMillian. If he doesn’t, the Bears could be looking at a more comfortable setup for Carolina, with McMillian facing either rookie Malik Muhammad in the slot or Tyrique Stevenson on the other side.
The Panthers also have a pass-catching threat in Jalen Coker, whose finish to last season has people expecting a bigger leap. He scored three touchdowns over the final five regular season games, then followed that up with nine catches for 134 yards and a touchdown in Carolina’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
With McMillian likely soaking up attention from the Bears’ secondary, Coker could wind up with friendlier matchups against corners not named Jaylon Johnson. If Bryce Young has time to operate, that can turn dangerous fast.
Carolina’s backfield brings another concern in Jonathon Brooks. The Bears’ run defense was poor last season, and that has to be respected until Chicago proves otherwise.
The workload split for the Panthers is still unclear, and the buzz around Brooks has cooled a bit because he’s dealing with “soreness” heading into the opener. Even so, the injury history is obvious with a twice-torn right ACL.
If he’s healthy, though, the talent that had some people calling him the best back in the 2024 draft class is still there. He may only get a limited number of carries, but even that can be enough for explosive plays.
Up front, Jaelan Phillips is the kind of edge rusher who can wreck a game if Chicago lets him settle in. The Panthers gave him a four-year, $120 million deal in March after he put up five sacks in 2025 split between two teams.
The underlying numbers were even louder: 76 pressures, ninth-most among edge rushers last season according to Pro Football Focus. Phillips has usually worked from the left edge, which would put him across from Darnell Wright more often than not, though Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero surely won’t keep feeding that look all day.
The bigger concern may be Braxton Jones, who is the favorite to start at left tackle unless Ozzy Trapilo’s comeback from a torn patellar tendon comes together quickly. As of now, Jones looks like the weak link Chicago has to protect.
Then there’s Jaycee Horn, a corner who has finally been able to stack healthy seasons after a rocky start to his career. Injuries limited him to six games or fewer in each of his first three NFL seasons, but he has played 31 games over the last two years and made the Pro Bowl in both. Pro Football Focus hasn’t loved the tape, yet Pro Football Reference says he allowed just a 48.4 percent completion rate in coverage last season.
Horn is expected to spend a lot of time on Rome Odunze. That’s a matchup the Bears need to handle carefully, especially with Caleb Williams having dealt with too many uncatchable throws to his draft classmate over their first two seasons together.
If Williams is off even a little on Sunday, Horn is the sort of corner who can make the mistake costly. Still, the Bears don’t need to avoid Odunze - they just need to be precise.
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