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Chicago Bears fans have had this game circled on the schedule since it was announced, but I don’t think many of us thought these two franchises would have a combined three wins at this point. With the Bears holding the first-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2024, this game was always going to hold extra significance.
The Bears will give rookie UDFA QB Tyson Bagent one more start, while the Panthers are starting the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, Bryce Young.
Chicago needs this win to push Carolina to 1-8, which would allow them to keep pace with the 1-8 Arizona Cardinals for the top pick in the draft. The Cards are getting quarterback Kyler Murray back, which adds another level of intrigue to tank-watch.
Besides the Bears, there are two other two-win teams right now, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, and both are underdogs this week. The Pats play the Colts, while the Giants take on the Cowboys.
We’ll keep compiling all our Bears-Panthers stuff here in this story stream — both preview and post-game — so check back often.