3 reasons Chicago Bears cannot lose to Carolina Panthers

2. The Chicago Bears can run the football, the Carolina Panthers cannot

The Chicago Bears offense has been dysfunctional at times, but you cannot deny that this team can run the football. They currently rank fifth in expected points added per rush, and they rank sixth in success rate, with 43.8% of their rush attempts being successful. On the flip side, the Panthers run defense is bad. They rank 32 in EPA per play and success rate. The Panthers allow a successful run on 45.7% of their attempts, and the next worst is 44.8%. They are far and away the worst run defense in the NFL.

The last run defense the Bears played that was this bad was the Raiders, who allowed 44.7% of their attempts to be successful. Chicago won with ease.

Then, on defense, the Chicago Bears rank 4th in success rate allowed on the ground at 33.5%. They are third in EPA per play. The Panthers offense ranks 20th in success rate on the ground, at 37.3%, and they rank 28th in EPA per play. If the Bears are successful at around 45%, and the Panthers are just 35%, the Bears should have a pretty significant edge here. It is not like Bryce Young can win the game with his arm, and the Panthers losing DJ Chark hurts that. If both teams lean to the run on a short week, Chicago has a huge advantage.