26. Carolina Panthers
Regardless of the result of any game from this point forward, is everyone in the Carolina Panthers fan base finally breathing? The Panthers looked like they might be on their way to having a total bust of a #1 overall pick at the quarterback position with how badly Bryce Young struggled in his first two NFL seasons. But after Andy Dalton was involved in a minor car accident early this season, Young took the job back and hasn’t looked back.
As a matter of fact, it looks like things have finally started to click out there for Bryce Young. The former Alabama Heisman winner has been playing with confidence, he’s been making big-time throws, and he’s got his team seriously competitive against good teams. I mean, the Panthers hung with the Chiefs and then the Bucs in consecutive weeks.
There are no moral victories in the NFL but in the context of the Panthers, having Bryce Young emerge this season is more important than their standing in the NFC South. Winning will eventually come if he’s figured it out, and it looks like that’s the case.
25. Chicago Bears
Who had Caleb Williams getting two coaches fired in his rookie season on their BINGO card?
All kidding aside, the Chicago Bears made a head coaching change one year too late. Although they might have made their head coaching change at the exact perfect time depending on which coach gets hired in place of Matt Eberflus.
The Bears had Eberflus face the music on Friday morning before they fired him and made franchise history in the process. The Bears have never fired a head coach during the season as long as that franchise has been around, so you know that the ownership was furious with the way things had been going with Eberflus at the helm.
Unfortunately, many people saw that coming before the year started. Asking Caleb Williams to save Matt Eberflus’ job was ridiculous in the first place. And despite the Bears making an offensive coordinator change, we still are seeing struggles at times on that side of the ball, although Williams has shown over the last couple of weeks the type of playmaking abilities that made him the #1 pick in the draft.
We are now on head coach watch for the Chicago Bears, officially.