Chicago Bears vs. Carolina Panthers: 5 storylines to watch in Week 5

LAKE FOREST – The Bryce Young vs. Caleb Williams battle in Week 5 wasn’t meant to be.

Sunday’s game between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers was supposed to feature each of the past two No. 1 overall draft picks. It was on paper, anyway, before the season started.

Instead, the Bears will face Andy Dalton, who took the starting quarterback job when Panthers coach Dave Canales benched Young in Week 3. Dalton, who started six games for the Bears in 2021, brings a revitalized Panthers offense to Chicago.

Carolina’s offense has been serviceable during its previous two games with Dalton at quarterback. The Panthers beat the Raiders 36-22 in Week 3 and put up 24 points in a losing effort against Cincinnati last week. The Bears will look to build off last week’s win over the Los Angeles Rams.

The Bears (2-2) and the Panthers (1-3) will kick off at noon from Soldier Field. The game will be broadcast on Fox. Here are the top five storylines to watch.

1. Revisiting the blockbuster trade

A year and a half later, the March 2023 trade between the Bears and the Panthers has become a lot more clear. In the deal, the Bears sent the 2023 No. 1 draft pick to Carolina in exchange for DJ Moore, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick wound up becoming the No. 1 overall pick, which the Bears used to draft Williams.

The trade is bound to be mentioned during the Fox broadcast. It landed Young in Carolina and Williams in Chicago. It landed the Bears three additional starters, and the team still has Carolina’s 2025 second-round pick in its back pocket.

For Carolina, the hype surrounding Young was short-lived. Canales, in his first year as Panthers head coach, benched Young two games into his second NFL season. In all, the benching came 18 starts into Young’s NFL career.

Instead, Dalton will start for the Panthers on Sunday. Dalton’s revenge tour began last week when he faced another former team, the Cincinnati Bengals, and continues this week in Chicago.

2. Caleb Williams vs. another bad defense

The Bears took advantage of a poorly ranked Rams defense last week. They will have another opportunity to do so against a bad Panthers unit. The Panthers rank 28th among 32 teams in yards allowed (358 per game). They rank 29th against the run, 31st in sack rate and dead last in the red zone.

Williams and the offense have another opportunity to score some points this week. Williams believes he has the offense trending in the right direction.

“We’re definitely figuring it out. Like I said a few weeks ago, it had to happen sooner rather than later and it’s happened pretty soon.”

—  Caleb Williams, Bears quarterback

“We’re definitely figuring it out,” Williams said. “Like I said a few weeks ago, it had to happen sooner rather than later, and it’s happened pretty soon, I would say, us figuring it out. I think last game was a huge steppingstone for us.”

In general, this stretch is a great opportunity for the Bears. From Weeks 4 to 10, they face six of the nine worst-rated defenses in the NFL.

With a new general manager taking over in January, the Panthers traded their best defender in edge rusher Brian Burns over the offseason. Former first-round cornerback Jaycee Horn is a talented player, but nobody else on the Panthers defense should scare the Bears.

3. Red Rifle’s resurgence

Dalton started six games for the Bears in 2021. The team signed him as a free agent in March of that year, but then went and drafted Justin Fields with a first-round pick two months later. Dalton began the season as the starter, but the Bears moved to Fields after Dalton hurt his knee in Week 2.

In his second year in Carolina, Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns against Las Vegas in Week 3. He played well last week, too, throwing for 220 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 10-point loss to the Bengals.

“The experience factor is huge, right?” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. “We played a guy that had experience last week [Matthew Stafford]. So it’s important that we do a great job with our disguises and our contours and making sure we are [where we’re] supposed to be when we’re supposed to be there. And that, to me, is more important whenever you play an experienced quarterback.”

Dalton will be making his 166th NFL regular season start Sunday. Top receiver Diontae Johnson has scored a touchdown in both games with Dalton at quarterback.

4. Can the Bears keep leaning on their defense?

With eight takeaways in four games, the Bears defense is tied for third among NFL teams in total takeaways. The Bears have picked up right where they left off late last season. They are among the toughest teams to throw the football against, and they rank third in the NFL in interception rate.

If the Panthers are going to win this game, it’s probably because they take care of the football and find success on the ground with running backs Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders.

Eberflus commended his defense this week. While the pass rush has been merely average through four games, the veteran secondary hasn’t missed a beat.

“The secondary, too, as far as jelling and understanding where they are and what they’re supposed to be doing with the disguise and the coverages, that’s been good,” Eberflus said. “The feedback from the players has been great. They’re really owning it.”

5. Run game renaissance?

Bears running back D’Andre Swift had a breakout performance last week after three sub-par games to start the season. Can Swift keep that going? Swift rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown last week, while also adding 72 yards as a receiver.

Versatility like that is exactly why the Bears signed the veteran back in free agency.

Backup Roschon Johnson still saw touches, too. Johnson has been more efficient than Swift in his limited touches. Khalil Herbert, who led the NFL in yards per carry just two years ago, didn’t play a single snap on offense last week.

The Bears need the run game to keep improving. Carolina’s 29th-rated rushing defense should be another opportunity to do just that. The Bears were able to lean on the run game last week against the Rams, and the game plan could look quite similar this week against the Panthers.