The Panthers face the ghosts of the Christmas of Bungled Trades today in Chicago
The Carolina Panthers are looking into a very unflattering mirror today as they face the Chicago Bears on the road. The Bears are, on paper, a very beatable team. They have a talented offense helmed by a rookie quarterback who is prone to mistakes with volume. Their defense is fine, but nothing to write home about.
Looking at recent history, however, you have 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 1st overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers used that to select quarterback Bryce Young.
Since then, the Panthers have benched Young, have 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 their 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 seen Williams match Young’s career win total as a starter in just four games. Williams 2-2 record stands in stark contrast to Young’s 2-18.
Get ready for a football game that does not match the emotions that Panthers fans are bringing into it. Fortunately for those of us who also want to watch good ball, most of the players and coaches on the Panthers were not around for last year’s trade and are only busy trying to prove themselves.
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