LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Pro Bowl player who torched the Bears in the 2005 playoffs will watch Sunday’s game in Carolina in street clothes. But that doesn’t mean the Panthers offense isn’t dangerous.

Carolina compiled 388 total yards, the sixth most in the NFL in Week 1, in a 26-24 comeback win over the Chargers last Sunday without Steve Smith. The star receiver was suspended by the Panthers for the first two games of the season after punching teammate Ken Lucas in training camp.

Cornerback Charles Tillman and the Bears defense will face a balanced Panthers offense Sunday in Carolina.

“They would be a better football team with him,” said coach Lovie Smith. “Steve Smith’s one of the best players in the league. Of course, you can win without him. They did last week against a good San Diego team. Steve Smith is special. Other guys will step up, though.”

After setting a Panthers record with 14 receptions for 169 yards in a 13-3 regular-season loss to the Bears in 2005, Smith caught 12 passes for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Carolina to a 29-21 win over Chicago two months later in the NFC divisional playoffs.

Asked about Smith’s absence Sunday, middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said: “Our corners are playing pretty good right now, so I’m not sure how big a difference it’s going to make. We all know what happened in the playoff game a couple years ago, but that was then and this is now. We have a good game plan. With or without him, I don’t think it makes too big a difference.”

Maybe not, but it won’t be easy to prepare for a team that’s missing its No. 1 receiver.

“With Steve being down, you never know where the ball’s going to go,” said cornerback Nate Vasher. “Sometimes you can watch film and you see the quarterbacks forcing the ball into Steve because it’s ‘get the ball to your best player.’ But they spread it around everywhere right now.”

A familiar face will help fill the void for the Panthers Sunday. Veteran Muhsin Muhammad, who has returned to Carolina for a second stint after spending the past three seasons with the Bears, led Panthers wide receivers with six catches for 56 yards against the Chargers.

“He knows how to get open,” Vasher said. “He knows where the first-down markers are and how to control the clock. That’s just something that comes with a lot of experience. Everybody knows he’s a run blocker and he’s one of those guys who has a great motor. It’ll be a big opportunity for us to go out there and try to keep his gains to a minimum.”

Jake Delhomme, who quarterbacked the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003, is back after missing most of last season with an elbow injury. But Carolina, like the Bears, is a team that believes first and foremost in establishing its running game.

Third-year pro DeAngelo Williams (18 carries for 86 yards) and rookie first-round pick Jonathan Stewart (10-53) combined to rush for 139 yards on 28 attempts against the Chargers.

“They’re kind of like our offense,” said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. “They’re a running attack. They have a really good quarterback, but they’re going to come out and pound the ball. They have two running backs that run strong and hard, so we’re going to have to make sure we don’t miss tackles and still try to play aggressive.

“They run the ball and continue to run it no matter what’s going on. Their mindset is to break a big one and they have the running backs to do that. If we can play stout against the run and put them in some long passing downs and we can get after Delhomme, that’ll be a key recipe for us.”

Given their contrasting styles, Williams and Stewart form a potent 1-2 punch.

“They both bring different things to the table,” said linebacker Lance Briggs. “DeAngelo Williams is fast. He’s shifty and he can do a lot of things. Jonathan Stewart is a little bit bigger. He’s a downhill runner who’s going to be physical and get some tough yards for you.”

“We’re going to face a couple of good tandems throughout the year, but this you would definitely say is one of them," Smith said. "Both guys can run the ball inside, have good speed and can make you miss. The offensive line played well, and it’s big. It’ll be a good challenge for our defense to try to shut down this offense.”

The Bears, of course, can’t focus all of their attention on the Panthers’ running game. Against the Chargers, Delhomme completed 23 of 41 passes for 247 yards including a game-winning 14-yard TD to tight end Dante Rosario in the back of the end zone with no time remaining.

“[Delhomme] is a smart football player,” said defensive coordinator Bob Babich. “He had an excellent game last week against San Diego. He causes an awful lot of problems and we have to definitely defend the pass also.”