Both the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers are coming off impressive road upsets, and will go head to head Sunday, at Bank of America Stadium.  The Bears looked good against the Colts, but still have some things to prove, mainly due to how rusty the Colts looked.  This is going to be a very physical, hard-nose football game, with two very similar opponents.

The Bears appeared to be back to the level they were at two years ago, when they went to the Super Bowl, playing with a swarming defense, good rushing attack, and excellent special teams.  As I mentioned before, the Colts did look pretty rusty, both offensively and defensively, which is why I think the Bears had so much success, at least on offense.  Obviously the 123 yard game by the Bears rookie Matt Forte was impressive, but the Colts don’t have that great of a run defense.  Forte will have a much tougher challenge against the Panthers, who held LaDanian Tomlinson to under 100 yards last week.

Kyle Orton was another big factor in the Bears win, his 150 yards aren’t going to wow anybody, but they key stat is 0 turnovers.  As long as Orton doesn’t turn the ball over, he’s going to give that Bears team and excellent chance to win.  If the Panthers are able to limit the effectiveness of Forte, Orton may be forced into a few mistakes.  Basically, the defensive game plan is pretty simple for Carolina: make Kyle Orton throw the ball.

The defense is the heart of that football team, with a number of Pro Bowlers.  Last year the front seven was decimated with injuries, but the Bears are healthy this season, and look like they will be back to the top of the league in defense.  Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams need to get off to a good start so they can loosen up that aggressive Bears defense.

Keys to the Game

1. Stop Matt Forte- Much like the Panthers, the Bears are a run first football team, and will try to establish the running game early.  If Jon Beason and company can limit Forte’s effectiveness, then Kyle Orton will be forced to throw the ball, which should allow Peppers and the defensive line to apply pressure and force mistakes.  Look for Peppers to have a multi-sack game.

2. Get the Running Game going- DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart played well against a very good San Diego defense, and need to have the same type of game Sunday.  LG Travelle Wharton is doubtful, so it will be interesting to see how well Geoff Hangartner performs if Wharton can’t go. This is going to be a very physical football game, and the Panthers need to establish dominance on the line of scrimmage.  If they can establish the run, then Jake Delhomme can open it up with a few play action passes.

3. Contain Devin Hester- Bears wide receiver Devin Hester is one of the most explosive players in the league, and has the ability to change games.  Rhys Lloyd should be able to limit Hester’s touches with some touchbacks (he leads the lead in that category), so it will be up to the coverage team to contain him if and when he does, as well as on punts.

Defensively the Bears have a slight advantage, but even without Steve Smith the Panthers have a much better offense.  The first half probably won’t have a lot of scoring, but I’d expect some big pays in the second half once that defense gets worn down a little bit.  The Panthers are playing at home, where they seem to underperform, but should be able to come away with a win.

Panthers 23, Bears 13

Injuries:

Doubtfull- Travelle Wharton; Ryne Robinson

Questionable- Na’il Diggs (shoulder), Chris Gamble (arm) and Dante Rosario (foot).

We’ll have more on injuries as we get closer to gametime.

Tags: carolina panthers, chicago bears, kelly orton