Chicago Bears vs Carolina Panthers Prediction, 9/13/2026 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 1
Game: Chicago Bears vs Carolina Panthers
Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026
Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC
TV: FOX
Odds-Point Spread: Panthers +2.5
Total-Over-Under: 47
Bank of America Stadium is the location where the Carolina Panthers (8-9 last year) will attempt to defeat the Chicago Bears (11-6 last season) on Sunday. Chicago opens this game as 2.5-point favorites. The over-under has been set at 47.
The Chicago Bears wrapped up their year having a 11-6 record. In their last game, the Bears took on the Los Angeles Rams and took a loss by a score of 20-17. D'Andre Swift was the rushing leader for the Bears with 19 attempts for 76 yds (4.0 yards per carry). Colston Loveland averaged 14.0 yds per catch by earning 56 yds on 4 catches. Caleb Williams went 23-42 with 257 yds passing and 2 touchdowns. He had a QB rating of 59.3 and ended the contest with 3 picks. When it came to the battle of the line of scrimmage, the Bears gave up 111 yards on 31 tries, which averages out to 3.6 yds per rush allowed. Chicago surrendered 20 completions on 42 tries for a total of 229 yds, and a completion rate of 47.6%. When the final whistle blew, they ran 81 plays for 417 yds. The Chicago Bears ended up rushing 39 times and compiled 160 yards, which came out to an average of 4.1 yards per tote.
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If you examine putting the ball in the endzone, the NFC representatives held an average of 25.9 points per game. Collectively, they were averaging 144.5 rush yards, which had them ranking 3rd in football. The Bears compiled 6,282 yds for last year. Chicago amassed 190 1st downs as a team, and they were flagged for 120 infractions for 970 yards. They turned the football over 11 different times (7 INTs and 4 lost fumbles). Chicago earned 28 passing TD's and 19 rushing TD's.
The Bears were sitting 23rd in professional football with reference to the opposition scoring, relinquishing 24.4 points per outing. They gave up 5.0 yds per rush on the ground and 134.5 rushing yards per contest last season. If you're looking at yards through the air, the Bears granted 3,863 yds ranking them 22nd in the NFL. They conceded 227.2 total yards per contest by way of the pass, and granted a completion rate of 66.6%. Altogether, they allowed 361.8 per contest, which had them ranking 29th in football. They granted 32 passing TD's, in addition to 15 to runners. In total, they allowed 2,287 yards via the ground game in 17 contests last season.
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The Panthers ended the year having accrued a 8-9 mark. In their last game, the Panthers went home defeated by a final of 34-31 when they played the Los Angeles Rams. Bryce Young (1 TD) finished the game with 264 yds on 21-40 through the air while his QB rating was 71.2. He threw 1 pick and his Y-A was 6.6 yards. Jalen Coker was a featured target for the Panthers, bringing in 9 throws for 134 yards (14.9 yards per catch). Chuba Hubbard ran the ball 13 times for 46 yds, walking away from the contest with 3.5 yards per attempt for Carolina. The Panthers finished the contest with a total of 333 yds on 62 plays (5.4 yards per play). Carolina ran for 3.8 yards per attempt, finishing with 83 yards on 22 carries. Carolina allowed 29 running attempts for 116 yds (4.0 yards per carry). The Panthers pass defense gave up a completion percentage of 57.1%, surrendering 295 yds on 24 out of 42 passing.
The Carolina Panthers held an average of 295.6 yards per contest, which ranked them at 27th in pro football. They had an average of 116.3 rushing yds per outing, and rushed for 1,977 yds. They yielded 12 INTs while surrendering 11 fumbles, and accrued 170 first downs. The Carolina offense conceded 762 total yards on 95 penalties, which had them ranking 29th in professional football with reference to helping out the other team. In the previous season, the Panthers earned 3,048 passing yards and averaged 179.3 passing yards per game, which had them ranking 26th in professional football. If you're looking at this team's ability to score points, the Panthers were sitting 27th in professional football, with 18.3 points per outing.
The Panthers granted 22.4 points per contest, ranking them 15th in the NFL. They allowed 20 touchdowns by way of the pass and 203.9 pass yds per contest, which had them ranking 15th in football. Carolina allowed a total of 2,096 rush yards (123.3 total yards per game), as well as 20 touchdowns via the rush last season. The Panthers defense was on the field for 1,016 plays from the line of scrimmage, which ranked them at 9th in pro football. Their defense compiled 21 takeaways (6 forced fumbles and 15 picks) last season. Overall, they conceded 380 points.
Who will win tonight's Bears-Panthers NFL game against the spread?
Guy's Pick: Take the Panthers +2.5
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