Final score prediction for Bears vs. Panthers Week 10 game

Get your popcorn ready! Week 10’s Thursday night showdown will feature a must-watch game between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, two teams that have combined for three total wins this season.

(Insert sarcasm face here).

Sure, Bears and Panthers fans will be invested in Week 10’s matchup, mainly because of how connected these two teams became during the 2023 NFL draft process. Chicago traded the No. 1 overall pick to Carolina for wide receiver DJ Moore and a haul of draft selections, including the Panthers’ first-rounder in 2024, which as of today, is slated to be the second overall pick.

Carolina used the first pick on quarterback Bryce Young, who several former (emphasis on former) general managers suggested would be a better option for the Bears than Justin Fields. And while concerns may be growing about Fields not being the quarterback in Chicago in 2024, Young has been a massive disappointment through his first eight games in the league.

Here’s where Young ranks in all major passing categories: Yards (27th), TDs (25th), completion percentage (22nd), and he’s thrown the 10th most interceptions. He also owns Pro Football Reference’s lowest quarterback rating of all 32 starters.

Sure, Mike Tannenbaum and Mike Lombardi … he would’ve been a huge upgrade for the Bears.

I guess it’s true that former general managers are formers for a reason.

If I’m being completely fair, Young hasn’t had much to work with this season. His No. 1 receiver is Adam Thielen, who most NFL analysts left for dead at the beginning of the season. Rookie Jonathan Mingo hasn’t been great, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a casual NFL fan who can name any other pass catcher on the roster.

Running back Miles Sanders has been a massive bust, and Pro Football Focus ranks the offensive line 31st entering this week’s game.

So, yeah, Young isn’t getting any help. But Bears fans don’t care. The fact he’s struggling further confirms that GM Ryan Poles made the right decision to trade the No. 1 pick. It’ll be an even greater trade if Carolina keeps losing and Chicago ends up with a premium first-rounder in 2024.

Subscribe to Bears Talk!

It’s unfair to unload on the Panthers’ quarterback without addressing Chicago’s. The Bears, after all, are starting Tyson Bagent on Thursday night. Justin Fields’ 2023 season has gone sideways since dislocating his right thumb in Week 7, and there’s already a call for Ryan Poles to target either Caleb Williams (USC) or Drake Maye (North Carolina) in the first round of the 2024 draft.

There’s a good chance Thursday night’s game will come down to which rookie quarterback plays better. Put another way, the loser will likely be the team whose rookie passer made more mistakes.

The Bears are favored, as they should be. Their offense is better, and the defenses are about the same.

Chicago is scoring 20.9 points per game (19th) compared to just 17.5 points for Carolina (26th). They’re fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game. The Panthers, meanwhile, are 24th. The Bears are 18th in the NFL in offensive efficiency, which isn’t great, but Carolina is much worse, ranking 31st in the league.

The Bears and Panthers’ passing offenses are similar, Chicago’s pass offense ranks 24th, and Carolina’s ranks 27th. Don’t expect many high-flying plays downfield.

Both teams have strengths and weaknesses on defense. Neither is great.

Carolina is a much more effective unit against the pass, ranking fifth in the NFL in pass defense. The Bears rank 28th. Conversely, the Bears have the fourth-best run defense. The Panthers rank 28th.

D’Onta Foreman left, D’Onta Foreman right, D’Onta Foreman … revenge game. That’s how the Chicago Bears should, and likely will, control this game.

Montez Sweat will get his chance to make a statement Thursday night. He has to make a statement. The Bears have had no pass rush this season, they rank dead last in the NFL with just 10 sacks.

A game like Thursday night’s is why they traded for Sweat at the NFL trade deadline. He’s squaring off against one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL and will chase down a rookie quarterback who he can panic into ill-advised throws. It’s fair for Chicago Bears fans to expect a sack (or two) in his second game in the Blue and Orange and first in front of a home crowd at Soldier Field.

Last week, I predicted the Saints would beat the Bears 24-17. Sadly, I was exactly right. I want to make it two weeks in a row with a bullseye, and I think I will, as long as Foreman and Sweat go off in primetime.

Final Score: Bears 27, Panthers 13