The Carolina Panthers’ quest to repeat as NFC South champions officially begins on Sunday as they host the Chicago Bears in Uptown for Week 1 of the regular season. There remains a lot of skepticism regarding the true potential of the Panthers team and it starts with quarterback Bryce Young.
Young is still looking to earn his spot with the Panthers long-term. With multiple upgrades on the offensive line and more stable offensive weapons, expectations for Young could are the highest they have ever been in his young career.
The end of last season made Young’s future look promising, but he is still going to have to take care of the football. Historically the former Heisman Trophy winner’s issue has been directly connected to poor decision making resulting in interceptions, especially in the red zone.
Perhaps one factor that could solve this issue is the “new look” offense we will see from the Panthers. Instead of the plays being called in by head coach Dave Canales, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik will now be in charge of the play calling. From what we witnessed in this preseason, this could mean more tight end usage and more plays downfield which are two things the Panthers have been lacking tremendously over the last couple of seasons.
Sunday is a great matchup for Young to prove he has matured in his understanding of the game and can lead an offense as the Bears pass defense was ranked in the bottom tier of the entire NFL a season ago, allowing a completion rate above 65%. This could be a recipe for a major day for reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan. Now, this does not mean Sunday will be a cakewalk for Dave Canales and the Panthers.
Much like Young, Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams has consistently faced criticism for a large portion of his short time in the league, but has shown great potential. Williams racked up nearly 4,000 yards in the air a season ago and 27 touchdowns. Having a quarterback like this on the other side could be dangerous for Carolina as their biggest question mark heading into this season is their defensive pass rush.
In addition to having one of the lowest ranked pass rushes in the NFL, the Panthers will also be without linebacker Patrick Jones II who has been ruled out with a back injury. If Caleb Williams has time to sit in the pocket and let plays develop, it could be a long day for Carolina’s defense.
The Bears’ are battling the injury bug themselves and perhaps the biggest developing story for Chicago leading up to Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff is the status of star wide receiver Rome Odunze.
As of right now, Odunze is listed as questionable as he is battling a calf injury. While winning games in the NFL is a full team effort, if the Bears are without their top receiver, it could change the approach of offensive play-calling. In 12 games last season, Odunze had 44 catches for over 600 yards. There is no doubt that’s the type of impact player no one wants to be without. This is something to keep an eye on as we approach kickoff.
With the difficulty of the Panthers schedule this season Week 1 feels a little bigger than it has in previous years where there weren’t as many exceptions. By no means is the first game of the year ever a “must-win”, but repeating as division champions will be difficult if the Panthers cannot take care of business against teams projected for the middle of the pack.
