Chicago DeAndre Carter, the wide receiver/return guy, and left lineman Teven Jenkins were both listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at Soldier Field against the Carolina Panthers. Both players are expected to be available for this Week 5 matchup, having sufficiently recovered from their rib injuries to be competitive.
That’s a nice improvement on offense and special teams.
This season, Carter has proven to be a reliable returner and a strong backup wide receiver who performed admirably in Keenan Allen’s absence.
The Bears are stronger at both locations with Jenkins available, as Matt Pryor can stay at right guard instead of switching to the left, as he did when Jenkins went on a leave of absence in Week 4.
The list of inactive players didn’t contain many shocks, especially for a club that has been playing very well up to this point. Dominique Robinson and Velus Jones Jr. are also healthy scratches, as is fullback Khari Blasingame. Terrell Smith and Zach Pickens were declared out of the game on Friday’s injury report.
This is the complete list of inactive Bears players:
RB/WR Velus Jones Jr.
FB Blasingame Khari
Zacch Pickens, DT
DL Dominique Robinson
DB Smith Terrell
The Five Chicago Bears Success Factors.
The NFL season’s second quarter will begin this Sunday at Soldier Field between the Chicago Bears (2-2) and the Carolina Panthers (1-3). With the greatest home winning run in the NFL, which stands at ten games, the Bears hope to maintain the momentum they created last week when they defeated the Los Angeles Rams, which was their most comprehensive effort of the season.
Though head coach Dave Canales and staff delivered a message to the squad by benching second-year quarterback Bryce Young after just two games in favor of veteran and former Bear Andy Dalton, the Panthers will not easily give up.
On Sunday, Dalton will face one of the league’s most formidable defenses as Caleb Williams, the Bears’ first-overall selection as a quarterback, tries to win his team’s second straight game for the first time in his brief career. Before the two teams square off in a 2023 pre-draft trade that permanently changed their paths, let’s examine the Bears’ five keys to success for week five:
Preserve the football when attacking
Williams bears a large portion of the blame for the Bears offense’s patchy ball security through four games. To be fair, not all of his five total turnovers have come from him, but Williams needs to constantly lead from the front and take care of the ball offensively. The rookie quarterback has already seen both highs and lows. In their two victories, he had two games with zero interceptions. In their two losses, he had two games with two interceptions. But in the few time he has been in the game, Williams has improved steadily but noticeably, and his best effort was only a week ago.
The Panthers defense, which has forced five interceptions this season—tied for the ninth-best total in the league—presents another tough challenge for this offense on Sunday. The Bears offense should be able to score a lot of points if they can guard the ball and avoid making costly errors.
2) Create a Persona Beyond the Offensive Line
The offense’s main source of worry, aside from turnovers, seems to be the offensive line, which has had difficulty performing well against the run and pass. With 3.5 yards per rush when counting exclusively running backs, the Bears’ on-field performance is third worst in the league. The line generates just 1.65 yards before contact each carry, so it’s not all on the backs. Their pass defense hasn’t improved much either; they rank third in the league with 4.0 sacks allowed per game.
Roschon Johnson powers in and the Bears take the lead!
📺: #LARvsCHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/UhkVWY3WrT— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
Luckily for the Bears, the Panthers boast one of the weakest defensive fronts in the NFL; they rank second and eleventh in the league respectively, surrendering 4.6 yards per carry and five sacks in four games. The Bears line may have better success on the ground and keeping Williams upright in the pocket if they can establish their identity in all areas of the offensive gameplan.
3) Increase D.J. Moore’s Offense Involvement
Star receiver D.J. Moore’s remarks to the media, his body language on the sidelines, and his remarks have all been the subject of a lot of recent discussion and writing. However, there seems to be no need to punch the panic button in Chicago, and not just because of his newly inked agreement that keeps him with the Bears through the 2029 season.
Caleb Williams to DJ Moore!
📺: #LARvsCHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/qKkDF3wMLF— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024
Moore entered the end zone for the first time since New Year’s Eve 2023, even if he only finished the game against the Rams with 22 receiving yards. Additionally, after a somewhat sluggish start, Moore’s chemistry with Williams appears to be strengthening. Moore is on pace to have 83 receptions for 803 yards and four touchdowns, which would be his lowest totals in years, according to an extrapolation of his stats through four games. It would make sense for the offense to embrace possibly their most dangerous and diverse offensive asset and incorporate Moore significantly in the passing and rushing attacks against the Panthers, especially considering that this week presents a potential for payback for the sleeping Bear.
4) Apply pressure on the quarterback Against Four Rushers on Defense
The Bears’ defense needs to get better at applying pressure even with four rushers on the field. In the front, Gervon Dexter Sr., a second-year tackle, has had a fantastic start to the season with three sacks, a significant increase over his total of 2.5 from the 2023 season. Darrell Taylor, a rookie, recorded two sacks in just the first week of play, while Pro Bowler Montez Sweat has added two more.
Welcome to Dexter's Laboratory 🧪
📺: #LARvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/iGGuVifPjN
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 29, 2024
Chuba Hubbard, a gifted runner who leads the Panthers with just under 300 rush yards, can be stifled by the Bears’ defenders by applying pressure on the QB without committing more rushers up front. In the secondary, pressure up front will only make it simpler to cover a well-rounded receiving corps that includes rookie Xavier Leggette, Diontae Johnson, and Adam Thielen, all of whom have improved since Dalton joined the offense. On Sunday, the defense will have much easier work if the Bears can cause disruptions up front in the passing lanes and against the rush.
5) As a team, play shrewd situational football.
The Bears’ mistake margin this season has been extremely narrow through four games, in part because of some poor situational football. Football teams will inevitably make mistakes like penalties, turnovers, and poor play calls. However, the ability to avoid these errors in key moments is frequently what sets great teams apart from mediocre ones.
In particular, the Bears have had trouble with penalties lately; most of these have been pre-snap offensive fouls, something the team needs to work on improving as the season progresses. Eleven of the team’s 30 accepted penalties—the 11th highest in the NFL—have resulted from false starts or game delays. Preventing these mental mistakes will increase the burden on the Panthers defense by keeping the offense from stopping itself, particularly in the red zone or on third downs. The Bears should be well-positioned to move on with a 3-2 record if they can continue to play situationally intelligent football on Sunday.
