Caleb Williams, Bears hammer Panthers as costly Bryce Young trade looms large

Bryce Young watched from the sideline as Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams faced third-and-13 with 1:27 to play in the third quarter.

A wired headset in his left ear, Young paced the sideline, as his Carolina Panthers aimed to muster a comeback from a 20-points-and-counting hole.

Williams, the quarterback who will forever be linked to Young in NFL lore, found receiver Keenan Allen on third down but Allen fell 2 yards short of the chains.

Young alternated clapping for and high-fiving his defensive teammates as they trotted off before the punt.

He was supportive. But this wasn’t the plan.

The Carolina Panthers did not trade two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and their best receiver to draft a cheerleader who would be benched two games into his second season.

They did not trade up from the ninth to first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft with the expectation Young would throw 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions in his debut season, completing 59.8% of his passes while taking 62 sacks for a league-worst 477 yards.

Fair or not, the Panthers had expected Young to be serviceable upon arrival as Williams has been this year for Chicago.

Instead, the Panthers engineered a trade that expedited the Bears’ rebuild and massively hampered their own as Young’s 2-14 rookie season gifted Chicago the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft that it used on Williams.

As the two teams faced off Sunday for the first time since Chicago drafted Williams with its gift-wrapped top pick, the Bears’ 36-10 victory highlighted just how far apart these franchises are.

This wasn’t just about a result that pushed Chicago back above .500 at 3-2 while the Panthers fly home 1-4. This was about the players who dictated that result — beginning with the quarterbacks and one key receiver.

Panthers’ lost players hurt them

The Panthers held their own early in the contest, each team trading a three-and-out before exchanging touchdown drives.

But after Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard raced up the heart of Chicago’s generally sound defense for a 38-yard score, the Bears didn’t just find the end zone with any player — they found the end zone with the two players they would not have if not for Carolina.

With 5:44 to go in the first quarter, Williams seemed to intuit that as Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn let his man streak from left to right, no defender picked up receiver DJ Moore — part of Carolina’s trade package to Chicago for the 2023 No. 1 pick.

The Panthers’ 2018 first-round pick turned Bear caught Williams’ pass and covered the distance to the end zone — a 34-yard touchdown against the team for whom he scored 21 in five years.

In the second quarter, the Bears pulled away. Carolina did not score at all as Chicago twice capped off scoring drives with 1-yard rushing touchdowns.

With 24 seconds to play in the first half, Williams looked off his safety to the right and hitched slightly. He found Moore in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown, Moore catching the backside pass as if Carolina cornerback Mike Jackson was not draped over him as thoroughly as he was.

The Panthers never recovered from a 27-7 halftime deficit, scoring just one more field goal in the second half and even benching Dalton for the final drive.

That brought on Young, who started out solid against a defense determined to bend but not break. Young found Miles Sanders for 27 yards with his first throw before later hitting Jalen Coker for 16 and 15 each. Ultimately, a dropped pick, short scramble and fourth-down sack prompted a turnover on downs.

Dalton finished the game completing 18 of 28 passes for 136 yards, an interception and two fumbles, while Young completed 4 of 7 attempts for 58 yards.

On the other side, Williams went 20-of-29 for 304 yards, two touchdowns and no mistakes.

Williams also rushed for 34 yards on five carries.