Carolina Panthers (1-3) @ Chicago Bears (2-2)
Sunday, October 6 (1:00 PM ET)
When the NFL schedule was released, there was at least a little bit of hope that this game would be a matchup between the last two #1 overall picks in the NFL Draft.
That wasn’t meant to be, apparently.
The Carolina Panthers have come to life a little bit the last two weeks offensively, including a win back in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders, with Andy Dalton at the helm. That will continue in Week 5 as they now travel to Chicago to take on 2024 #1 overall pick Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, who are coming off of a win at home in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Panthers are going to be going up against a very underrated Chicago Bears defense this coming week, and as good as that Bears defense has been, I actually think the Panthers could possibly go into Chicago and get an upset win this week. The Panthers have been one of the most blitz-heavy teams in the NFL so far this season (3rd-highest blitz rate in the league) and although they don’t have the best pass rush win rate in the NFL, Caleb Williams has taken at least three sacks in each of his last three games.
The Bears are going to need their playmakers to make plays in this one. The offense can’t fall flat after getting the running game going with D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson in Week 4.
If Chicago comes out and plays more efficient offensively as we saw in Week 4, then they should be able to outlast the Panthers even in a bit of a low-scoring game. But if Chicago’s defense has any issues or breakdowns this week, the Panthers are going to cover the 3.5 points the Bears are currently favored by with relative ease.
I want to pick Andy Dalton and the Panthers on the road here, but I just don’t have the courage to do it. I’m going to take the Bears in a low-scoring affair at home.
Prediction: Bears win 18-15