When the Chicago Bears host the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football a lot of the national media will not enjoy the game, but fans of the Bears will have a lot of storylines to follow. As always, it can also be more fun to watch a game like this with a little action on the table. What are some good bets to make when the Chicago Bears host the Carolina Panthers?
4. Bryce Young under 215.5 passing yards against Chicago Bears
Bryce Young has gone over this total three times in the past four weeks. However, one of the times was 217 yards, and one of the others was a game when the Panthers lost 42-24, and Young had 41 attempts. Young is averaging 195 yards per game this season, and he will stay around that number this week.
First, rookie quarterbacks tend to struggle on short weeks. It is a quick turnaround, and the defense will be more prepared than he will. Also, it will be on the road and in a tough environment for a prime-time game. Worse than that, the Bears' defense should look the best we have seen all year.
The addition of Montez Sweat helps the pass rush immensely. It makes DeMarcus Walker better by putting less on his plate. Beyond that, the secondary has a chance to start and finish a game with their preseason starting five for the first time all year. Kyler Gordon, Tyrqiue Stevenson, Jaylon Johnson, Jaquan Brisker, and Eddie Jackson have all been in and out at the wrong times. They have only started together in weeks one and six, and now they will all be active on Thursday.
As the Bears get stronger, the Panthers get weaker. They should be without DJ Chark in this game. That will leave them with Terrace Marshall and Jonathan Mingo on the outside. Neither has proven anything, and both of them average under a yard per route run. Both will struggle to hit 50 yards. The Bears biggest weaknesses are passes to tight ends and running backs, but the Panthers are bad in both areas. This sets up well for the defense to hold things down and the secondary to have their best game yet.