Panthers-Bears Could Be One Of the Best NFL Week-One Matchups

The Carolina Panthers start their season with one of the toughest matchups on the entire schedule, facing the Chicago Bears in Week One of the NFL season. The Panthers have slightly raised expectations entering 2026 after what most have called a successful offseason, adding depth on both sides of the ball and especially retooling the defense.

The matchup between two playoff teams last year is one of the best of Week One throughout the NFL, but it begs the question: Is it the best matchup of Week One? Is it in the top 10? Where exactly does the game where Caleb Williams and Bryce Young start their seasons rank amongst the rest of the slate has to offer? One NFL analyst answered that question.

Panthers-Bears Touted as Top 5 Matchup

Dave Canales postgam — Oct 6, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales meet after the game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images | Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

CBS Sports' Carter Bahns dropped his rankings for each Week One matchup of the upcoming NFL season, and at five was the Bears at Panthers. The meeting between two 2025 division title holders ranked above some other quality games on the Week One slate, such as the Packers at Vikings, Cowboys at Giants, and Ravens at Colts.

Bahn highlighted that the QB matchup specifically is the selling point for this game, that the winning team's QB can reach further into star status in the NFL, and that Bryce Young has more to gain than Caleb Williams because this matchup is the start of a contract year for Bryce Young.

The most intriguing part of this game is how the Panthers defense is going to be tested early in the season, facing off against a Bears offense that can create explosive plays, has a good offensive line, and a quarterback who has elite potential in Caleb Williams

Where Panthers-Bears Should Rank

Chuba Hubbard scoring a touchdown against the Chief — Nov 24, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) scores a touchdown as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal (54) defends in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Week One matchup in Charlotte is correctly ranked above some other fun matchups, but it could be ranked even higher. Ranked right above the Panthers-Bears game on Bahn's list is the Broncos-Chiefs matchup.

The Chiefs are coming off their worst season in the Patrick Mahomes era, and it was unfortunately cut short when Mahomes suffered a torn ACL injury that sidelined him at the end of the 2025 season, and potentially could sideline him for week one.

If Mahomes doesn't play, the Panthers-Bears game is easily more interesting than Broncos-Chiefs, and, honestly, purely from an entertainment standpoint, the Panthers-Bears game should still be above it.

The other three games ranked above Panthers-Bears are Bills at Texans, 49ers at Rams, and the Super Bowl 60 rematch, Patriots at Seahawks. Those are all phenomenal games and are rightfully ranked ahead of Panthers-Bears, but the fact that Carolina has a matchup in this conversation in general speaks to the growing interest in this Panthers team.

Add us as a preferred source on Google