It’s the Ghost of Christmas-Could’ve-Been or something like that
Welcome to our weekly game pick series where I will attempt to guide you through picking every Carolina Panthers game of the 2024 season. A rare early season win against the Las Vegas Raiders and an almost close loss to the Cincinnati Bengals have fans moderately interested in an offense that fits in “the modern NFL”. Up next is the neighbor who the Panthers accidentally gifted a winning lottery ticket to. Instead of sharing the wealth, the Chicago Bears seem poised to ride off into the sunset with the wind streaming through their hair.
All jokes aside, and there are many, many Caleb Williams to D.J. Moore jokes that must be put aside here, this is a very winnable game for Andy Dalton and the Panthers. The Bears have been going through some mild hiccups as they introduce the concept of a quarterback to the Windy City. It’s not that Williams is a bust, but he is still a rookie.
There are reasons to think that Sunday can prove a step forward for him. He won’t see a more favorable defense than the Panthers all season. He’s been improving every game. There are as many Panthers starters on the Thursday injury report as there are Bears players (8).
There are also reasons to think the rookie will continue to struggle a little. For example, he’s still a rookie. Ejiro Evero’s defense, though manned with cardboard cutouts at this point, is still a well coached and complex unit. The Panthers can still score and the two times Williams has thrown more than 30 passes he has also thrown two interceptions.
I think the edge here may have to go to experience. For once, that means the team in black and blue. That’s why my FanDuel pick for Week 5 is the Carolina Panthers. This is the first time I have picked the Panthers this season and I’m sure they won’t let me down. That has never happened before as a Panthers fan.