The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers meet in Week 5 of the NFL season. We have our staff predictions for the game at Soldier Field.
CHICAGO, Ill., — The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers are set to meet in Week 5 of the NFL season at Soldier Field. Chicago enters this game at 2-2, fresh off a win over the Los Angeles Rams at home. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 1-3 on the year and coming off a loss to Cincinnati.
The Panthers started the season 0-2 and then opted to bench Bryce Young, turning to Andy Dalton at quarterback. Since then, they have gone 1-1 with a win over the Raiders and that loss to the Bengals. With Chicago getting set to head to London to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, they can’t look too far ahead and have to take care of business at home.
While the Bears offense looked better a week ago against the Rams, there are still some concerns overall as they got off to a slow start again. Can they avoid that this week and put together a complete game on offence?
As we always do, the Bear Report staff puts together their predictions for each week and an X-Factor. Take a look at who each of us thinks will win this game at Soldier Field.
Not a VIP subscriber to the Bear Report? Sign up now to get access to everything publisher Zack Pearson and the entire Bear Report team have to offer on all things Chicago Bears and access to the No. 1 site covering the team!
The Bears have the chance to extend their home win streak again this week and they welcome in a Panthers team that is 1-3. But ever since they moved to Andy Dalton as the starting quarterback, they are 1-1 and have played better on offense. Still this is a game the Bears should win and head to London feeling good about themselves. This is also another chance for the offense to continue to get better and put up an impressive game. I think they do just that.
X-Factor: Defense. Yes, the Panthers have struggled this year overall but like I mentioned above, they have been better under Dalton as the starter. The Bears defense needs to make a statement early and not let the Panthers get into any sort of groove.
Simply put, this needs to be the game where the Bears figure it out. Carolina is an improved team with Andy Dalton under center but this is a game they should not only win but control. Establish the run, stop the Panthers’ run game and reap the rewards. It’s put up or shut up time in Chicago. If this is going to be a playoff contender, it’s about time to play like one.
X-Factor: Winning in the trenches on the defensive line
Carolina invested plenty of resources into their offensive line this offseason. So far, they’ve had the best Pass Block Win Rate in the league. They’re also allowing RB Chubba Hubbard to average over 100 yards per game in his last two contests. The Bears’ defense needs a bounce back game and they need to win that battle in the trenches. Chicago’s defense has the second-best Pass Rush Win Rate in the league, so in a sense, it’s a battle of two strengths. In reality, if they can stop the run, they should be able to get after Dalton.
