SapphireSportz crest SAPPHIRESPORTZ
Sign in
THE WIRE
WK 9 FINAL Bengals 63, Falcons 42 WK 9 FINAL Lions 14, Dolphins 35 WK 9 FINAL Giants 27, Eagles 49 MOVE Tyler Shough dev trait up Superstar to X-Factor MOVE RJ Harvey dev trait up Star to Superstar MOVE Jadon Canady dev trait up Star to X-Factor WK 1 Lions (4-4) at Bengals (4-4) WK 1 Packers (5-4) at Steelers (6-2)
WEEK 1 · FINAL
BEARS 5-4 · 33.0 PPG 63 – 31 PANTHERS 2-6 · 28.0 PPG
THE READ
Bears run away with it, 63-31

Chicago beat Carolina 63-31 in a rout decided by Caleb Williams, who threw 4 touchdown passes and ran for 3 more while completing 14 of 22 for 305 yards and 111 rushing yards. Rome Odunze caught 6 passes for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Bears outgained the Panthers 494 to 358 total yards. Carolina turned it over 3 times to Chicago's 1 and failed to record a sack, while the Bears had 2, the decisive edge in a game where the home team simply played cleaner and more explosive football.

Caleb Brooks Beat reporter
THE WIDER PICTURE
Team SRS SOS MARGIN TO +/-
Bears +5.5 +1.4 +4.1 +8
Panthers -8.6 -1.3 -7.3 -3
SRS is how many points a side beats an average team by once you account for who they played — beat a good team by 3 and it counts for more than beating a bad one by 20. SOS is how hard that schedule has been. Full table.
Bears — NFC #6 · 5-4 Playoff picture →
In the MVP race
#10 Caleb Williams QB · Bears · 0.6% of the field
The whole board →
IN THE BOOTH
Riley Parker The chaos merchant
Carolina couldn't generate a pass rush—0 sacks—and coughed it up 3 times while Chicago's defense was awake, which turns a Week 1 debut into a 32-point funeral before anyone's ready to bury the season.
Elise Carter The insider · replying
Chicago's Week 1 wasn't a fluke—this is what happens when a QB can beat you every way at once, and Carolina's defense has nowhere to hide.
They only ever read the box score and this league's own numbers — none of them has a source, and none of them can report anything that did not happen.
Caleb Williams
Bears
14/22, 305 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Caleb Williams
Bears
7 carries, 111 yards, 3 TD
Rome Odunze
Bears
6 catches, 147 yards, 2 TD
WHAT DECIDED IT
Total yards Bears 494, Panthers 358 Bears
Through the air Bears 305, Panthers 177 Bears
On the ground Bears 189, Panthers 181 Bears
Pressure Panthers 0 sacks, Bears 3 Bears
THE ROOM Final. The recap is below.
📺 THE WEEK 1 SHOW this game is in the week's show ▶ Watch the show
THE MATCHUP SCOUT every number below is counted from the export or read off the roster — nothing is inferred about playcalling
LEAGUE DATA counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy Pass 61% · Rush 39% · 33.8 scored, 29.7 allowed
10.8 yds/att 61.9% completions 6.4 yds/carry 403.9 yds/game 1.7 giveaways/game 9.0% sack rate last 5: 2-3
Primary weapon: Rome Odunze WR — 29% of the receiving yards · DEPENDENCY MODERATE
SAPPHIRE METRICS QB efficiency 65 · Aggressive Balance 89 Ball security 53 Back usage 26% QB runs 5.7/game
Most exposed: pressure -- sacked on 9.0% of dropbacks
PERSONNEL off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 92 WR 82 TE 86 RB 82 OL 82 DL 83 LB 80 DB 86
Best: Joe Thuney LG 96 Fastest: Zavion Thomas WR 96 SPD 6 at star dev or better
YOUR NOTEBOOK what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic
Sign in as a member of this league to keep private scouting notes on your opponents.
HOW THEY PLAY the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
Josh 🦅
Bears · his last 8 games
Balanced Runs the quarterback Takes sacks
Pass / run61% / 39% Points for / against30.1 — 29.5 Margin+0.6 Giveaways a game1.8 Sacks taken9.8% of dropbacks Lead backD'Andre Swift · 10.0/g Top targetLuther Burden III · 27% QB carries5.4 a game
Counted from the weeks each man actually held his team — so a franchise that changed hands is not credited to whoever has it now. Nothing above is a playcall: the export does not carry those, and neither does this.
MATCHUP ADVANTAGES unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push
Bears receivers vs Panthers secondary 82 v 86 PANTHERS
Panthers receivers vs Bears secondary 82 v 86 BEARS
Bears line vs Panthers front 82 v 86 PANTHERS
Panthers line vs Bears front 83 v 83 EVEN
Bears backs vs Panthers run defence 82 v 85 PANTHERS
Panthers backs vs Bears run defence 84 v 83 EVEN
Bears passer vs Panthers secondary 92 v 86 BEARS
Panthers passer vs Bears secondary 87 v 86 EVEN
TOP PERFORMERS
Caleb Williams QB Bears 305 pass yds
Bryce Young QB Panthers 177 pass yds
Rome Odunze WR Bears 147 rec yds
Jonathon Brooks HB Panthers 136 rush yds
Caleb Williams QB Bears 111 rush yds
Zavion Thomas WR Bears 90 rec yds
D'Andre Swift HB Bears 69 rush yds
Xavier Legette WR Panthers 69 rec yds
Jonathon Brooks HB Panthers 67 rec yds
Colston Loveland TE Bears 58 rec yds
🎬 The Game Recap
this game as an episode -- the score, the stars, the numbers that decided it -- and a video you can post ›
BOX SCORE
BEARS
PLAYER C/ATTYDSTDINTSCKLNGRTG
Caleb Williams QB 14/2230541054127.8
PANTHERS
PLAYER C/ATTYDSTDINTSCKLNGRTG
Bryce Young QB 11/2117731252100.5
RECENT FORM
Bears
no games yet
Panthers
no games yet
TEAM STATS
Bears Panthers
494 TOTAL YARDS 358
305 PASSING YARDS 177
189 RUSHING YARDS 181
0 SACKS ALLOWED 2
3 SACKS MADE 0
1 GIVEAWAYS 3
4 TAKEAWAYS 1

Bold is the side that won that line. Giveaways come off a team's own offensive rows and takeaways off its own defensive rows — two separate payloads, so they need not tie out against each other.

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
1 BEARS — 0 PANTHERS
MORE
🎰 Bet this game at The Book 🏟️ Your Franchise HQ 🗓️ Full league schedule
LEAGUE CHAT
Sign in to join the conversation.
SAPPHIRESPORTZ.GG Built2LastBring a leaguePricingWhat changedTermsPrivacyHomeSupport