Bears-Panthers Prediction: And the winner is ...
Bears, 31-23
Ben Johnson's offense figures to start quickly in Year 2 and give Dennis Allen's defense a little margin for error — a likely theme for the season. The Panthers scored 30 or more points five times last season (including their playoff loss to the Rams), but also scored 10 or fewer five times. This could be a good test of the Bears' ability to start fast with an early knockout to save Caleb Williams from pulling a rabbit out of his hat to win the game.
PLAYER TO WATCH
All eyes obviously will be on quarterback Caleb Williams. I'll be keeping an eye on center Garrett Bradbury in his first game as Drew Dalman's replacement. I expect it to be a seamless transition — Bradbury might not be at Dalman's level, but he's been the starting center for four top-10 scoring offenses in his seven NFL season (including the No. 2-ranked Patriots in 2025). But former Bears All-Pro center Olin Kreutz, whose opinion I respect, expressed some concern about that position — because while Bradbury is an accomplished NFL veteran, Dalman was a perfect fit for Johnson's scheme last season. So we'll see about that.
And it might be only a matter of time before rookie Logan Jones gets his shot. When Kreutz was a third-round rookie in 1998, he lost the starting job to 1997 undrafted free agent Casey Wiegmann, but started the final game of the 1998 season and won the job the following season. And the rest is history.
X-FACTOR
The heat could be a challenge — it's going to be in the high 80s in Charlotte — reminiscent of the 2018 game at Miami, when the Bears wilted in the fourth quarter and lost 31-28. Ben Johnson is a coach who thinks of everything — we'll see if he has a solution for that.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
This is the first season that I will not be a part of the Sun-Times' Bears coverage since 1995 — their decision, not mine. This was my first Bears prediction for the Sun-Times — the 1995 season opener against the Vikings. The Bears won, 31-14.
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