Chicago Bears @ Carolina Panthers – Week 1 Game Preview: Overview, Keys to Game, Insights
The 2026 NFL season is upon us and expectations are very high for the Bears after they won the NFC North in 2025. They posted a 11-6 record under first-year head coach Ben Johnson and made a remarkable comeback to top the rival Packers in the Wild Card game before falling to the Rams in an overtime thriller in the Divisional Round.
Both of those playoff games featured heroics from quarterback Caleb Williams, who had a breakout in his sophomore campaign with 3942 passing yards and 27 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions. Overall, the offense averaged 25.9 points per game, ninth best in the NFL and a massive improvement from 2024.
D.J. Moore was traded away leaving Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III as the top two receiving options. Colston Loveland has supplanted Cole Kmet as the main target out of the tight end position. D’Andre Swift is the primary running back but Kyle Monangai had almost 800 yards to form a very effective one-two punch.
It was much more of a struggle for the Bears on defense as they allowed 361 yards and 24.4 points a game, both in the bottom half of the league. They covered up a lot of that deficiency with a whopping +22 turnover differential, easily the best in the NFL. They did not make any major signings on that side of the ball, so it definitely remains an area of concern.
Chicago begins the regular season with a trip to Charlotte and a matchup with the Panthers on Sunday. Carolina (8-9) also saw their season end at the hands of the Rams in the Wild Card after they came out on top in a very messy NFC South, despite posting a losing record.
Former number one pick Bryce Young briefly lost his job at quarterback early in the season but took back over and had a pretty good year with 3011 passing yards and 23 Touchdowns. Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan won the offensive rookie of the year with 1024 yards and seven touchdowns. Running back Rico Dowdle ran for 1024 yards and Chuba Hubbard was very effective two years ago.
Panthers defense sits in the middle of the pack and the pass defense is a little bit stronger than the run D. The pass rush was not very good with just 30 total sacks in 2025, that’s less than two a game. Cornerback Jaycee Horn is the best player on that side of the ball for Carolina with five interceptions.
The Bears now have a chance to prove 2025 was not a fluke, they had a lot of close wins that could’ve gone either way in the fourth quarter. Can Williams build on his outstanding playoff performance and take the next step to become a top 10 NFL quarterback? All the questions are going to be answered starting Sunday, let’s go.
Where to Watch/Listen
- Sunday, September 13 at 12:00pm CT FOX, WBBM Radio (English), and WRTO Radio (Spanish).
Keys to Victory
Here are my keys to Sunday’s game. If these things happen, the Bears should have a shot to win.
- Get the offense going early. Last season the Bears consistently started slow in the first half and had to scramble late to get back into the game.
- Don’t let the Panthers get the run game established. Bryce Young did improve in 2025 but you would still rather have the burden on him to make plays with his arm.
- Run the ball to set up the pass. Chicago made a big improvement on the ground in 2025 and they need to keep that up so Williams can be more comfortable in the pocket.
Don’t Tell Me the Odds
The Bears are favored by three points on the road in Carolina Sunday. The over/under is 46.5, so there is an expectation for a pretty high scoring affair.
It’s Football Weather
The weather is going to be warm at Bank of America Stadium Sunday with a high temperature of 84 and sunny skies.
My Prediction
The Panthers can be a tough opponent at home, so it won’t be a walk in the park for the Bears. That being said, I think Williams is going to have a very good day with a mostly ineffective Carolina pass rush. Chicago will take the first game of the season 28-21.
Official NFL Preview
Here is the official game preview of Bears-Panthers from the NFL.
