The Carolina Panthers look in a very unflattering mirror today as they face the Chicago Bears on the road. The Bears are a very beatable team on paper. They have a talented offense, led by a rookie quarterback who is prone to mistakes with volume. Their defense is fine, but nothing to write home about.

However, if you look at recent history, you’ll see two teams in remarkably different places after a blockbuster trade between the two teams just 19 months ago. The Panthers traded a king’s ransom to the Bears in exchange for the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers used that to select quarterback Bryce Young.

Since then, the Panthers have benched Young, already fired and hired a new head coach, and are seeing surprising signs of a future under a 36-year-old journeyman quarterback. The Bears, meanwhile, still have the same head coach, drafted Caleb Williams with the Panthers 2024 1st round draft pick (which turned out to be the first overall in that draft), and have watched Williams match Young’s career win total as a starter in just four competitions. Williams’ 2-2 record is in stark contrast to Young’s 2-18.

Prepare for a football game that doesn’t match the emotions that Panthers fans bring. Luckily for those of us who also want to watch some good ball, most of the Panthers players and coaches weren’t there last year and are just trying to prove themselves.

As always, use this space to talk about the action as it unfolds.

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