Haunted by that awful trade, Carolina Panthers get burned again by Chicago in 36-10 loss
The Chicago Bears fleeced the Carolina Panthers on Sunday — again.
As a healthy Bryce Young watched from the sideline except for some fourth-quarter mop-up duty, the Bears won 36-10, providing a vivid example of just how lopsided the two teams’ trade in March 2023 really was.
In that deal, the Panthers (now 1-4) bet just about everything on the idea that Young would become Carolina’s franchise quarterback.
Carolina traded up No. 9 to No. 1, giving the Chicago Bears two first-round picks, two second-round picks and the Panthers’ star wide receiver. Instead, Young played so poorly over his 18-game stint as a starter — he went 2-16 in those contests — that he was benched two games into this season and replaced by 36-year-old journeyman Andy Dalton.
Chicago, meanwhile, got wide receiver DJ Moore and the draft pick that became quarterback Caleb Williams in that trade. Those two combined for more points on their own than the Panthers scored all day Sunday, with Williams finding Moore for 34- and 30-yard touchdowns. Moore torched his former teammates, reminding everyone that the Panthers are still looking for someone at wide receiver who is as good as he is.
A sign in the stands at Chicago summed up the reaction of Bears’ fans to the trade, 19 months after it happened: “PANTHERS Thank You for the Draft Picks.”
The Bears (3-2) also turned their trade haul from the Panthers into three other players who are difference-makers for them: starting Chicago offensive tackle Darnell Wright, starting cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and punter Tory Taylor.
In other words, the Bears had five players from that trade on the field affecting the outcome.
Carolina had zero.
Young at least played in this one, but it came long after the outcome was decided. After Carolina got a couple of offensive linemen hurt in a game that was basically over by halftime, head coach Dave Canales decided to get Dalton out of there. Canales was concerned that Dalton might get hurt, too.
So Young came in for one series late in the game. He made a couple of nice plays on the run before the drive stalled without points; Canales said later Young had played “fantastic” but also that Dalton would continue to be the team’s starter next week at home vs. Atlanta.
“Andy’s our quarterback,” Canales said.
Panthers owner David Tepper, meanwhile, watched his team lay another egg. Tepper is one of the few major decision-makers still around after the Chicago-Carolina trade. General manager Scott Fitterer is gone (although Dan Morgan, now the GM, was Fitterer’s right-hand man at the time). Coach Frank Reich is gone. Reich’s offensive staff is gone.
Still, though, the ghosts remain. The Panthers are being haunted by that 2023 trade, in much the same way that the ill-advised trade for defensive tackle Sean Gilbert haunted the team for years in its early history.
It’s only fair to point out that the trade would be viewed far differently if the Panthers had instead chosen quarterback CJ Stroud. If you obtain an actual franchise quarterback in a trade, almost any price is OK. Carolina simply picked the wrong QB.
Sunday wasn’t all about that trade. The Panthers also were blasted again by injuries, as one starter after another left the game for various reasons. Cornerback Jaycee Horn also managed to get himself thrown out of the game.
“A rough one,” Canales termed the game at large and it certainly was.
With Dalton, the Panthers had averaged 30 points per game in the veteran’s first two starts. This time the Bears took away his deep options and dared Carolina to make first downs with checkdowns. The Panthers couldn’t. Dalton missed several throws and wasn’t helped by receivers who caught the ball and could never seem to shake free of tackles.
At one point, Dalton’s numbers sounded like a kindergartner who was learning to count: he was 6-for-7, for 8 yards. At halftime, Carolina had five total first downs, and Chicago already had four touchdowns. It was 27-7 by that point. Carolina also turned the ball over three times — an interception by Dalton and fumbles by Tommy Tremble and Chuba Hubbard — while Chicago didn’t turn it over at all.
In fact, the whole operation on offense looked a lot like it did the first two games of this year, when Young was running things. In those games, the Panthers got outscored by an average of 36.5-6.5.
In this game, they got outscored 36-10. There wasn’t much difference, really. It’s October, and the Panthers are getting haunted all over again.
