Game Preview: Bears vs. Panthers
Once upon a time, there was a football team; they drafted a new quarterback, every Chicago fan’s dream. He was finally promoted, oh what a joy. We knew he was the answer, this young Ohio boy. This season has had quite the storyline thus far, and the saga will continue this Sunday at Soldier Field.
Starting with the coaches, John Fox will be going against the team he previously coached from 2002 – 2010. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was a linebacker for the Chicago Bears and was on the Super Bowl-winning Bears team in 1985. Both coaches have emotional ties in this game. But the players will be the ones to carry out a victory.
Julius Peppers is a Carolina hometown hero. He played his college ball for North Carolina, was drafted 2nd overall by the Carolina Panthers, and in 2002 in which he won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Peppers then went on to sign with the Chicago Bears in 2010 and stayed with Chicago until 2013. Unfortunately, in 2014 he signed with the Packers and lost his credibility with many Chicago fans. Not many fans will be happy to see Peppers, especially since his goal will be to sack Mitchell Trubisky.
The Panthers have the 4th most sacks this season but have yet to score a defensive touchdown.
Hopefully, Trubisky and the Bears offense will be able to keep that streak going. Carolina has been dealing with some injuries of their own as of late. Greg Olsen is on injured reserve (another former Chicago Bear who I wish never left), Luke Kuechly did not participate in practice on Thursday, and Kelvin Benjamin has been missing practice time this week due to issues with his knee. Ron Rivera stated he was a “little concerned” about the Week 7 status of Benjamin. If the Panthers play without Benjamin and possibly even Kuechly, it would make it a lot easier for both the Bears offense and defense.
The offense of the Panthers has mostly gone through the arm of Cam Newton. Carolina ranks 22nd in rushing and 29th in yards per carry at 3.4. Christian McCaffrey has yet to have a run go for more than 11 yards and is only averaging 2.7 yards per carry. McCaffrey is still the Panther’s main weapon through the air. He leads all running backs with 48 targets and has caught 37 of them for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns. Keeping McCaffrey in check should be Vic Fangio’s main objective along with Cam Newton.
In order for Trubisky to be successful, the Bear’s running backs will need to be relied upon again, as they were last week against Baltimore. Jordan Howard had a career-high 36 carries for a career-high 167 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Tarik “The Freak” Cohen has been held in check, for the most part, the last few games, but I believe Dowell Loggains will find a way to get him going this game in front of the Bears fans in order to bring some electricity into the stadium.
The Bears receivers have been subpar at best; but if Trubisky can pull it all together, the offensive line can protect their quarterback, and Loggains can work on his situational play calling then I think the Bears can pull this game off at home. Winning this second game in a row will bring the Bears to 3-4 and bring Trubisky’s Chicago career to 2-1.
Final Score Prediction:
Chicago – 21
Carolina – 10
