The 2026 regular season is just a few days away from beginning for the Chicago Bears as they make their final preparations before heading to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers. It's a battle of two surprise division winners from a year ago, with each team hoping to get a jump start to the season.
For the Bears, they officially turned a corner last year during Ben Johnson's first season as head coach, becoming a dangerous team loaded on offense with talented pass catchers and a punishing rushing attack. And they were spearheaded by quarterback Caleb Williams, who broke out as the prolific playmaker he was billed as during his collegiate days to lead them to an 11-6 record atop the NFC North. The Bears advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs last year and are hoping to take another step in 2026 as contenders.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a successful season of their own under head coach Dave Canales. Carolina was able to hang around .500 all year long with some big wins against playoff contenders and eventually overtook the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC South at 8-9. Quarterback Bryce Young took steps towards showing he can be a competent NFL quarterback, in part thanks to weapons such as Tetairoa McMillan, but he's entering a critical year in 2026.
Week 1 can feel like an outlier at times considering how much things can change between now and December. Look at what happened last year with Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. But we're sure to see some big moments on Sunday that turn the tide one way or another. Here are our bold predictions for Bears vs. Panthers.
For all of the talk of the Bears starting slow last season, they got off to hot starts early in the season. The game script was working for Ben Johnson and the offense, even when things still weren't totally clicking yet. In Weeks 1 and 2, they opened the game scoring on their first possession. Johnson has had time to game plan for the Panthers and will be ready with a systematic drive to score six early on.
#bears #last #carolina
For the Bears, they officially turned a corner last year during Ben Johnson's first season as head coach, becoming a dangerous team loaded on offense with talented pass catchers and a punishing rushing attack. And they were spearheaded by quarterback Caleb Williams, who broke out as the prolific playmaker he was billed as during his collegiate days to lead them to an 11-6 record atop the NFC North. The Bears advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs last year and are hoping to take another step in 2026 as contenders.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a successful season of their own under head coach Dave Canales. Carolina was able to hang around .500 all year long with some big wins against playoff contenders and eventually overtook the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC South at 8-9. Quarterback Bryce Young took steps towards showing he can be a competent NFL quarterback, in part thanks to weapons such as Tetairoa McMillan, but he's entering a critical year in 2026.
Week 1 can feel like an outlier at times considering how much things can change between now and December. Look at what happened last year with Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. But we're sure to see some big moments on Sunday that turn the tide one way or another. Here are our bold predictions for Bears vs. Panthers.
For all of the talk of the Bears starting slow last season, they got off to hot starts early in the season. The game script was working for Ben Johnson and the offense, even when things still weren't totally clicking yet. In Weeks 1 and 2, they opened the game scoring on their first possession. Johnson has had time to game plan for the Panthers and will be ready with a systematic drive to score six early on.
#bears #last #carolina
2 months ago
