Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers - Matchup and Discussion

[Jeremy Igo]

This week the Chicago Bears (4-1) visit the Carolina Panthers (3-2) in what feels like an early playoff game between two promising teams. 

Here is some info on the matchup. 

 

Chicago struggles greatly on offense but touts a top 10 defense. The Panthers are the more balanced team, with both units in the top half of the league. While run defense is the Panthers biggest weakness of the season, running the ball isn't Chicago's particular strength. 

This is a solid matchup, all signs point to a relatively low scoring game played close to the vest. 

 

 

[Smithers]

We are great on 3rd down offense, while they are great on 3rd down defense.  3rd down conversions for our offense could be a huge difference maker.  Hopefully we keep converting walk away with a huge win.  

[Fox007]

Double Khalil Mack every play and....profi?

[hepcat]

Chicago has gotten really lucky in a few of their games. They are not as good as their record. 

[DaveThePanther2008]

Containing Mack should be #1 priority for the offense.  Would love to see us go 3 games without a sack.

We have a balanced attack and should be able to put some points on the board.

Defensively, continue to improve and we should hold our own.

[t96]

25 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Chicago has gotten really lucky in a few of their games. They are not as good as their record. 

Often times it's better to be lucky than good... We're going to need to be on point and win the turnover battle this game. It's definitely our toughest test so far.

[Jeremy Igo]

2 minutes ago, t96 said:

Often times it's better to be lucky than good... We're going to need to be on point and win the turnover battle this game. It's definitely our toughest test so far.

Tougher than Tampa and Vegas?

[DaveThePanther2008]

1 minute ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Tougher than Tampa and Vegas?

I was about to say.  LV really dominated the 2nd half against KC and we went toe to toe with them.  Pretty much the same with Tampa.

[Bartin]

I saw a stat the other day that the Bears have the two best CBs in the entire NFL by passer rating allowed on throws into their coverage and Eddie Jackson behind them is an elite safety. Oh and they also have Khalil Mack. This is going to be quite the test for Brady, Teddy and the WRs. Pretty excited to see how it goes. This is the kind of matchup that will tell us just how legit the offense is.

[LinvilleGorge]

It probably comes down to which version of Nick Foles shows up. He can be very good, but he can also be very bad. If we can pressure him early, that would bode well for us. If we can't and he gets in rhythm that would not bode well for us.

[t96]

1 minute ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Tougher than Tampa and Vegas?

Vegas is a strange team. They were outstanding against KC last game. Terrible against NE. Okay against us and the Aints and bad (but not terrible) against the Bills. I didn't think week 1 was such a challenge for us and we matched up pretty well with them. 

Tampa I'm still not convinced is any good at all, and the Bears just beat them, we would've controlled and won the game against them if Teddy played like he has every other week this year. Turnovers killed us that game but Bears definitely worry me more than Tampa.

Bears offense is not great by any means, but I think they do just enough on offense to give some teams trouble. Nagy is a solid coach for them to have done as well as they have the last 2+ years with such terrible QB play. Foles is inconsistent but if he's on point against us, it will not be a walk in the park for our D. And their D is still elite, especially the pass rush.

 

I think this'll be a very close game that turnovers determine. Hope I'm wrong and we blow 'em out

[hepcat]

13 minutes ago, t96 said:

Vegas is a strange team. They were outstanding against KC last game. Terrible against NE. Okay against us and the Aints and bad (but not terrible) against the Bills. I didn't think week 1 was such a challenge for us and we matched up pretty well with them. 

Belichick lays the blueprints for strangling even good teams. He had a great gameplan in the Superbowl that messed up the Rams for an entire season. NE has laid a blueprint for slowing down Mahomes in 2018 that other teams have tried to copy, including the Raiders last week. I wouldn't put much stock into when teams struggle against the Patriots. 

Meanwhile, I still think the Bears are way worse than their record indicates. They are the anti-Falcons. Everything has broken their way so far. 

[RenoCarolina]

Defense is definitely where we need to improve to be considered a playoff team.

31st in running yards allowed?

We give up the first down 50% of the time on 3rd down plays?

We spent every pick on defense and only have 5 sacks in 5 games?

Young and improving team but until/unless those stats are fixed we aren't going anywhere in Jan/Feb/March or whenever they have post season.

 

[Mother Grabber]

46 minutes ago, DaveThePanther2008 said:

Containing Mack should be #1 priority for the offense.  Would love to see us go 3 games without a sack.

that’s easy. run every play.