The Bears will open the 2026 season Sunday in a matchup of 2025 NFC division winners when they visit the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The game will feature a battle between quarterbacks who were both selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft after winning the Heisman Trophy in college. The Bears' Caleb Williams (USC) and the Panthers' Bryce Young (Alabama) also will be forever linked due to being part of the same blockbuster trade.
In 2023, the Bears moved down from No. 1 to 9 in the draft, obtaining two first-round picks, two second-round selections and receiver DJ Moore so that Carolina could choose Young with the first pick. In 2024, the Bears spent one of the selections they acquired in the deal to take Williams at No. 1.
The two teams are seeking faster starts than last year, when they both opened 0-2 before rebounding to win their divisions, the Bears at 11-6 and the Panthers at 8-9.
This is the first time the Bears are opening a season on the road since 2021 and the first time they've ever played the Panthers in Week 1.
When the Bears have the ball
Entering his second year under the tutelage of coach and play caller Ben Johnson, Williams quarterbacks an offense that is determined to take another step after a breakout 2025 season. The Bears scored the third most points in team history (441) and ranked sixth in the NFL in total yards after finishing last the previous year.
Williams set a franchise passing record with 3,942 yards and helped the Bears rally to win seven games, including a playoff victory, that they trailed in the final 2:00. About 10 days ago, Johnson told reporters that Williams seems even more serious, focused and locked in this summer than he was last year.
Johnson has stated that his goals for the offense this season include Williams improving his completion percentage, quicker starts so that the Bears won't have to stage miraculous comebacks to win games and better play late in the first half.
Williams is surrounded by an array of weapons and a veteran offensive line that's anchored by All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney, who last year was named the inaugural winner of the Protector of the Year Award as the NFL's best offensive lineman.
Tight end Colston Loveland and receiver Luther Burden III both emerged as dynamic playmakers during the second half of their rookie seasons last year and will look to pick up where they left off. Loveland's size, speed and athleticism enable the Bears to create mismatches in coverage, while Burden excels at gaining yards after the catch by avoiding and breaking tackles.
The Bears also rely on one of the league's top backfield tandems in D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who last season were the NFL's only teammates to both rush for at least 750 yards. Swift established career rushing highs with 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns, while Monangai added 783 yards and five TDs, including 176 yards in a win over the Bengals that Swift missed due to an injury.
The Bears will face a Panthers defense that was bolstered in free agency by the additions of outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips and inside linebacker Devin Lloyd. Phillips has appeared in 63 games over five seasons with the Dolphins (2021-25) and Eagles (2025), registering 205 tackles, 32 tackles-for-loss and 28.0 sacks.
Lloyd spent his first four NFL seasons with the Jaguars, recording 435 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. Last year, he was voted to the Pro Bowl and selected second-team All-Pro after compiling 81 tackles and a career-high five interceptions, tied for the most by an NFL linebacker.
"[He's] super athletic, can run all over the place, come down, thump you, is good in coverage," Johnson said. "He's a guy that we're certainly aware of. All three levels right now, they've got people that we've got to make sure we account for and that we're thinking about.
"[It's] a little bit different scheme than what he's been in in the past. We'll see how they want to utilize him: Do they want to pressure him? Do they want to keep him in coverage? That's something that, without a whole lot of tape out there, it's hard to say for sure. We just have to make sure we're sound in everything we're doing and give us a chance."
Carolina's secondary is led by cornerback Jaycee Horn, who has started all 53 games he's played in five seasons with the Panthers, generating 190 tackles, 10 interceptions and 34 pass breakups. Last season, he produced a career-high and team-leading five interceptions.
Key matchup: Bears center Garrett Bradbury vs. Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown
The Bears' only new starting offensive lineman, Bradbury has made a smooth transition since being acquired in March via a trade with the Patriots. He will be challenged Sunday by Brown, a mammoth 6-5, 320-pound seventh-year pro who excels as a run stuffer and also emerged as a productive pass rusher last season when he recorded a career-high 5.0 sacks. The Bears will need a group effort to contain Brown, who moves up and down the line of scrimmage.
"He's a major problem," said offensive coordinator Press Taylor. "Probably the best thing he does well is the versatility to go up and down the line. I mean, he'll be anything from head-up on a center to head-up a tight end. And so all these matchups that they can create with him by the versatility of the front are a major problem for you.
"Everybody's aware that they may have their turn blocking him one-on-one based on what the defensive personnel grouping is. He is a load for centers, but he's a load for tight ends if he gets out there and plays in certain situations. The versatility he's able to display in all the different techniques of their defense and the way they deploy them, that's what's most impressive with him."
When the Panthers have the ball
Like Williams, Young is a quarterback who possesses the athleticism and instincts to avoid pass rushers and extend plays.
"I see a guy that's got the ability to hurt you with his mobility, hurt you with his feet," said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, "and so our ability to rush the passer and keep him from being able to create with his feet is going to be really important. His decision-making, I think, has sped up from maybe the last time I saw him … I see a vastly improved player."
The Bears pass rush is led by defensive ends Montez Sweat and Austin Booker. Last year, Sweat led the team with 10.0 sacks, while Booker recorded 4.5 sacks in the final 10 games after missing the first seven contests with an injury. The Bears are also counting on defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo to pressure the quarterback as he returns from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered last November.
General manager Ryan Poles achieved a major offseason goal by adding speed to the defense with the signing of free agent linebacker Devin Bush and the drafting of safety Dillon Thieneman in the first round and cornerback Malik Muhammad in the fourth.
They will face a Panthers offense that features receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was named NFL offensive rookie of the year last season after catching 70 passes for a franchise rookie record 1,014 yards and seven TDs.
With Carolina's leading rusher last year, running back Rico Dowdle, having signed with the Steelers during the offseason, Chuba Hubbard is back atop the depth chart. He ran for 511 yards last season after leading the Panthers in rushing with 902 yards and five TDs in 2023 and 1,195 yards and 10 TDs in 2024.
Johnson described Panthers guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt as "about as good of a guard duo that you'll see in football."
"They're big, physical guys inside," Allen said. "They do a great job of protecting the integrity of the inside of the pocket, which is important for Bryce, and they're maulers in the run game. I think their offensive line starts with the interior and their ability to get movement in the run game and protect the interior of the pocket."
Key matchup: Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson vs. Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan
After two straight Pro Bowl selections in 2023-24, Johnson underwent core muscle surgery in 2025 and was limited to seven games. Based on how he performed the last two weeks or so of training camp, he appears primed to revert to form. Said Ben Johnson: "I could feel a fire lit under him. I don't know what it was, but you could feel him really ignite there the back half of training camp … I think we've got a player who's got a chance to be playing his best football this year." The veteran cornerback will be challenged Sunday by McMillan, a 6-4, 220-pounder who boasts size, speed and a large catch radius.
